Locally Acquired Melioidosis Linked to Environment — Mississippi

This brief report describes three cases of melioidosis identified between 2020 and 2023 in residents of a Mississippi Gulf Coast county. All patients presented with severe illness, including pneumonia, sepsis, and abscesses. None had travel history to melioidosis-endemic regions. Environmental sampling linked their infections to Burkholderia pseudomallei found in soil and water on one patient’s property. Whole-genome sequencing confirmed that isolates from all three patients and environmental samples were clonal, suggesting local acquisition. This marks the first confirmed environmental isolation of B. pseudomallei in the continental United States, indicating possible endemicity in the region.

This brief report describes three cases of melioidosis identified between 2020 and 2023 in residents of a Mississippi Gulf Coast county. All patients presented with severe illness, including pneumonia, sepsis, and abscesses. None had travel history to melioidosis-endemic regions. Environmental sampling linked their infections to Burkholderia pseudomallei found in soil and water on one patient’s property. Whole-genome sequencing confirmed that isolates from all three patients and environmental samples were clonal, suggesting local acquisition. This marks the first confirmed environmental isolation of B. pseudomallei in the continental United States, indicating possible endemicity in the region.