CDC warns of deadly bacteria found in Mississippi soil after two residents sickened

Public health authorities are urging at-risk residents in the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi to take extra precautions after an investigation turned up deadly bacteria living in the soil around the homes of two people who were sickened. 

The investigation was launched after two unrelated residents — one this year, and another in 2020 — were sickened by melioidosis in the area. Both are believed to have contracted melioidosis, also known as Whitmore's disease, after they were exposed to a strain of a rare bacteria known as Burkholderia pseudomallei, which is typically seen only in tropical countries.

Though the bacteria has been found in Puerto Rico, Wednesday's announcement marks the first time the bacteria has been discovered in the soil of a U.S. state.