The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that a lavender- and chamomile-scented aromatherapy spray contaminated with a deadly bacteria that killed two people in 2021 also killed one of the victims’ pet raccoons.
In October 2021, CDC investigators found that the lavender and chamomile scents of Better Homes & Gardens’ Essential Oils Aromatherapy Room Spray with Gemstones, which was imported from India and sold in 55 Walmart stores, contained the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei.
The bacteria causes a rare disease called melioidosis, which causes symptoms that can be mistaken for the flu or a cold, but if caught early, can be treated with certain intravenous antibiotics.
After becoming aware of the concerns, Walmart voluntarily recalled about 3,900 bottles of the product from 55 stores in 18 states, according to Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove. The company also contacted more than 2,000 customers who purchased the spray to alert them to the recall and offer refunds.
“Our hearts go out to the four families affected by this situation,” Walmart said in a statement in October 2021. “The safety of our customers is always our top priority, and as part of the recall, we are actively implementing plans to notify customers and prevent further sales of the products while federal agencies continue their investigation.”
Better Homes and Gardens said in a statement Friday that it takes consumer safety issues “very seriously” and “fully supported Walmart’s efforts last year to recall and discontinue the products in question.”
The spray has been linked to a multistate outbreak that led to the deaths of a 5-year-old boy in Georgia and a 53-year-old woman in Kansas. Aromatherapy sprays were also responsible for illnesses in a 53-year-old man in Minnesota and a 4-year-old girl in Texas.
According to the CDC, the Texas patient’s previously healthy pet raccoon broke a spray bottle and walked into the liquid in March 2021. The raccoon “exhibited acute neurologic symptoms consistent with neurologic melioidosis” about two weeks after exposure and died three days later.
“This is the first documented suspected case of melioidosis in a raccoon and the first animal case associated with this outbreak,” the CDC said in a report released Friday.
The CDC visited the Texas property and took samples from the raccoon, which was buried on the family’s land, and the surrounding environment.
Of 12 tissue samples collected, two taken from the raccoon’s intraorbital tissue tested positive for Burkholderia pseudomallei, reaffirming that the animal likely died from acute neurologic melioidosis.
All environmental samples taken from around the raccoon burial site tested negative for bacteria, according to the CDC.
After identifying aromatherapy products as containing the bacteria in 2021, the CDC recommended that anyone who has the sprays in their home immediately stop using them and double-pack them in a clear bag and a cardboard box to take to Walmart for disposal.
The bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei is rarely found in the United States and is more commonly found in contaminated soil and water in parts of South and Southeast Asia.
Although rare, melioidosis is a serious disease, with about 12 cases reported each year in the United States. Most cases occur in people who have lived or traveled to areas where the bacteria is present, and person-to-person transmission is “extremely rare,” according to the CDC.
