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A bottle of Better Homes & Gardens room spray has been found to contain a rare bacteria that causes melioidosis.
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Walmart recalled the spray this summer after a contaminated bottle was found in the home of a person who died from the disease.
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Three other people have been sickened with melioidosis in the United States this year, but only one has been linked to the spray.
Aromatherapy spray bottles sold at more than 50 Walmart stores have been recalled after one was found to contain a deadly bacteria, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Friday.
The spray, a lavender and chamomile essential oil blend made by Better Homes & Gardens, was recently discovered in the home of a Georgia resident who died in late July after contracting a bacterial disease called melioidosis.
The CDC identified the spray this week as containing Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacterium known to cause melioidosis, which is rare in the United States, with about a dozen cases reported annually, but is more common in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, as well as India, where the spray is manufactured.
This bacterial disease causes a variety of symptoms, including fever, cough, chest pain and muscle aches, and can be confused with other common illnesses such as the flu, cold or COVID-19. Person-to-person transmission is extremely rare.
Three more cases of melioidosis have been reported so far this year. A fatal case was reported in Kansas in March, according to U.S. News. Then, in May of this year, two patients were hospitalized and recovered in Minnesota and Texas, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The CDC is investigating whether those people had been using the same products.
Walmart removed all remaining bottles of the lavender and chamomile spray from its stores and website on Thursday, along with five other scents from the same product line, while the CDC continues to investigate whether related products may pose a risk.
The CDC offers the following recommendations for people who keep this aromatherapy spray in their homes:
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Immediately discontinue use of this product. Do not open the bottle. Do not throw away or dispose of the bottle in regular trash.
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Place the bottle inside two clean, clear zip lock bags and then place them inside a small cardboard box. Return the bagged and boxed product to a Walmart store.
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Any sheets or linens that may have been sprayed with the product should be washed with regular laundry detergent and dried thoroughly in a hot dryer, and bleach can be used if necessary.
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Wipe down any counters or surfaces that may have been sprayed with undiluted Pine-Sol or a similar disinfectant.
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Limit handling of spray bottles and wash your hands thoroughly after touching bottles or linens, and if gloves are used, wash your hands afterwards.
If you have used the product within the past 21 days and have a fever or other symptoms of melioidosis, the CDC recommends seeing a doctor. If you don’t have symptoms but have come into contact with the product within the past 7 days, your doctor may recommend you take antibiotics to prevent infection.
Insider has reached out to Walmart for comment.
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