• Julia K Petras, Mindy G Elrod, Maureen C Ty, Patrick Dawson, Kevin O'Laughlin, Jay E Gee, Jennifer Hanson, Carla Boutwell, Gail Ainsworth, Cari A Beesley, Elke Saile, Rebekah Tiller, Christopher A Gulvik, Daphne Ware, Theresa Sokol, Gary Balsamo, Kathryn Taylor, Johanna S Salzer, William A Bower, Zachary P Weiner, María E Negrón, Alex R Hoffmaster, and Paul Byers.
• From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta (J.K.P., M.G.E., M.C.T., P.D., K.O., J.E.G., C.A.B., E.S., R.T., C.A.G., J.S.S., W.A.B., Z.P.W., M.E.N., A.R.H.); the Mississippi State Department of Health, Jackson (J.H., C.B., G.A., D.W., K.T., P.B.); the Arizona Department of Health Services, Phoenix (C.A.B.); and the Louisiana Department of Health, Baton Rouge (T.S., G.B.).
• N. Engl. J. Med. 2023 Dec 21; 389 (25): 235523622355-2362.

AbstractMelioidosis, caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, is a rare but potentially fatal bacterial disease endemic to tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. It is typically acquired through contact with contaminated soil or fresh water. Before this investigation, B. pseudomallei was not known to have been isolated from the environment in the continental United States. Here, we report on three patients living in the same Mississippi Gulf Coast county who presented with melioidosis within a 3-year period. They were infected by the same Western Hemisphere B. pseudomallei strain that was discovered in three environmental samples collected from the property of one of the patients. These findings indicate local acquisition of melioidosis from the environment in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region.Copyright © 2023 Massachusetts Medical Society.

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