Experts have warned of a disease lurking in backyards across America after a string of deaths in Australia.
Melioidosis is a serious bacterial lung infection that kills up to half of the people it infects worldwide.
The disease, which affects about a dozen Americans a year, is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, which lives in tropical soils and water.
Experts have suggested that wet weather such as hurricanes and heavy rains, which are becoming increasingly common in the US, may increase the risk of the bacteria rising to the top of the soil in gardens and backyards.
It comes after five people in Australia’s Northern Territory died from the disease, prompting health officials there to issue a warning to the public.
Although the disease is mainly found in tropical climates such as Southeast Asia and Australia, the disease can spread to certain coastal areas of the US. These include the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
The bacteria usually cause no symptoms, but in severe cases it can cause potentially fatal pneumonia and sepsis, an overreaction of the body to an infection that causes the immune system to attack healthy organs.
Last year, CDC officials warned that Burkholderia pseudomallei is now endemic to the Gulf Coast, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
Officials warned of the infection melioidosis, which spreads through bacteria lurking in gardens and has killed five Australians in the past 12 months (stock image)
The map above shows countries where the bacteria have been detected and the US states where the CDC says the bacteria is endemic
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Professor Bart Currie, an expert in tropical and emerging infectious diseases at the Menzies School of Health Research in Australia, said Yahoo News Melioidosis will become an even more ‘substantial problem’ in the coming years due to climate change, resulting in more hurricanes and monsoons.
People can become infected with the bacteria through contact with contaminated soil and muddy water, especially if they have an open wound.
Rarely, it can also be transmitted between people, although this has only been reported through sexual contact and during pregnancy.
Burkholderia pseudomallei was first found in the US in 2022 in soil and water samples along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Until that point, U.S. cases of melioidosis had been linked to people bringing the disease back from areas like Australia.
Symptoms include fever, headache, difficulty breathing, stomach or chest pain, muscle aches, confusion and seizures, according to the CDC.
Signs typically develop within one to four weeks after exposure to the bacteria, although some people do not become ill until months or years after exposure.
Although melioidosis usually manifests as a lung infection, it can spread to other organs such as the liver, spleen, prostate, lymph nodes, and brain.
In severe cases this can lead to life-threatening sepsis.
Melioidosis is usually treated with long-term antibiotics, including IV antibiotics for at least two weeks (the intensive phase) and oral medications for three to six months (the eradication phase).
To prevent exposure to Burkholderia pseudomallei, the CDC recommends avoiding soil or water if you have open foundations and wearing gloves and boots when working in gardens.