USA
Several people are dying from a mysterious disease – now the cause has been found
A lavender-scented room spray was responsible for the mysterious deaths
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In the past year, mysterious deaths have puzzled Americans. Researchers have now found that those affected had all inhaled the same room spray.
In the spring of 2021, mysterious deaths puzzled Americans. All of the fatalities suffered septic shock, but how this was triggered remained a mystery to scientists to the very end. Now it came out: A lavender spray, which is used for aromatherapy purposes, was to blame. This is now reported by the “Washington Post”, citing a spokesman for the supermarket chain Walmart, which has now removed the product from the range, and a scientist from the US health authority.
Similar cases in four states
According to the report, a Kansas woman presented to the emergency room in March 2021 following suffering from a five-day cough, weakness, and shortness of breath. She was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia and a urinary tract infection.
The 53-year-old woman, who was already suffering from heart, liver and lung problems, died nine days later. Her body had gone into septic shock, a life-threatening condition typically caused by a bacterial infection that results in dangerously low blood pressure. The doctors were initially unable to determine exactly which bacteria these were.
The CDC researched for months
Julia Petras, an employee of the “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” (CDC), an agency of the US Department of Health, described in an interview with the “Washington Post” that the scientists were doing everything possible to find out what the patient was ill. Petras co-authored a study released Thursday that revealed the woman’s cause of death. “We got involved straight away and drove to the woman’s house in April to take soil and water samples,” Petras told the newspaper. But these would not have given any information.
According to Petras, the biologist Jay E. Gee then made an important discovery through genome sequencing and found out which bacterium had triggered the septic shock. “We found that this bacterium [Burkholderia pseudomallei] has a genetic fingerprint linked to South Asia,” Petras said. But following speaking with the woman’s family, they were surprised to learn that the woman had not recently left the United States.
Several tracks lead to Asia
In June of that year, a four-year-old girl in Texas also went into septic shock following days of fever and vomiting. The doctors diagnosed her with melioidosis – a rare bacterial disease that is mainly found in moist soil and water, but can also be found in contaminated liquids. The girl was released three months later but might no longer speak and has been in a wheelchair ever since.
Around the same time, a 53-year-old Minnesota man was hospitalized following his family found him debilitated and in an altered mental state. Days later, a blood culture showed the same bacterium that infected the four-year-old and the woman in Kansas: Burkholderia pseudomallei. But none of the participants was in Asia. Then there was a five-year-old boy whose melioidosis had spread to his brain and died. “It struck me as odd,” Petras told the Washington Post.
The solution to the riddle: a room spray
Petras and her team quickly realized that those affected must have inhaled the bacterium. “We then started investigating products that might be sprayed into the air,” the researcher continued. CDC scientists and local and state health departments visited people’s homes to conduct interviews. At the same time, they sampled household and cleaning products, as well as food and personal care products.
The solution to the riddle was found in a room spray from the five-year-old boy’s house. Two weeks later, Petras said, lab results confirmed the spray was positive Burkholderia pseudomallei has been tested. The research further revealed that the other sufferers were also exposed to the air freshener, which originated in India. Authorities issued a warning in October 2021, and Walmart removed the product from its shelves in November.
Walmart withdrew the product from its range
Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said in an email that the company has taken active steps to notify consumers of the recalled products since October. “Walmart has been actively communicating with the customers who have purchased the product,” Hargrove told the newspaper. They were urged to stop using the product. The statement from the manufacturer “Better Homes & Gardens” was rather brief: We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,” it said, according to the “Post”.
Swell: “The Washington Post”, CDC
