Wellness

[Mindy D]

ATTENTION: This bacteria can be very deadly. It can cause the disease melioidosis. There are a few types of melodiosis depending on where in the body the bacteria attacks. This bacteria is not naturally found in the continental United States. It is found in other regions of the globe and in Puerto Rico and in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Without treatment, according to the CDC, the germ can kill about nine out of ten people. Doctors usually would not treat or test for this illness in patients reporting no travel to places where the bacteria is found. Tell friends about this and tell them to read the explicit instructions for handling this that are found on this page and on the CDC and Consumer Product Safety Commission Pages and in the recall page from the CPSC right below this paragraph. The bacteria is considered so dangerous that hospitals must send suspected samples to the CDC special pathogens lab to test for it and the hospitals must follow special protocols to do so. The cluster of four persons with melodiosis already has two deaths. Two out of four. With treatment, the death rate is approximately four in ten. With treatment in intensive care, the death rate decreases to two in ten. My information, including the statistical data, comes from the CDC page on this pathogen. This is the CDC page that discusses the lethality of the pathogen. Please excuse the messy title of this post. I wanted to be include some words and had trouble fitting them in.

https://www.cdc.gov/melioidosis/bioterrorism/threat.html

Below page is from the Consumer Product Safety Commission page for this recall.

Walmart Recalls Better Homes and Gardens Essential Oil Infused Aromatherapy Room Spray with Gemstones Due to Rare and Dangerous Bacteria; Two Deaths Investigated

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  UPC 84140411420 Lavender and Chamomile
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  UPC 84140411421 Lemon and Mandarin
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  UPC 84140411422 Lavender
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  UPC 84140411423 Peppermint
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  UPC 84140411424 Lime and Eucalyptus
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  UPC 84140411425 Sandalwood and Vanilla

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Name of Product:

Better Homes and Gardens Essential Oil Infused Aromatherapy Room Spray with Gemstones

Hazard:

Tests conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that a bottle of the room spray contained the rare and dangerous bacteria Burkholderia pseudomalleiwhich causes melioidosis, a condition that is difficult to diagnose and can be fatal. CDC has been investigating a cluster of four confirmed cases of melioidosis including two deaths in the U.S. Though the source of these four infections has not been confirmed by CDC, the bottle with the same type of bacteria was found in the home of one of the melioidosis decedents.

Remedy:

Refund

Recall Date:

October 22, 2021

Units:

About 3,900

Consumer Contact

Walmart at 800-925-6278 from 7 a.m. through 9 p.m. CT any day or online at walmart . com and click on "Product Recalls" for more information. Walmart Inc. uses the brand Better Homes and Gardens, a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation, under license. Make inquiries and returns to Walmart. 

Recall Details

Description:

Washington, D.C. – Walmart is recalling about 3,900 bottles of Better Homes and Gardens-branded- Essential Oil Infused Aromatherapy Room Spray with Gemstones in six different scents due to the possible presence of a rare and dangerous bacteria and risk of serious injury and death.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tested a version of the product and determined that it contained the dangerous bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei which causes melioidosis. CDC has been investigating a cluster of four cases of melioidosis in the U.S., including two deaths. Cases were reported in Kansas, Minnesota, Texas and Georgia, including a child fatality.

Samples taken by CDC from a bottle of the Better Homes and Gardens Lavender & Chamomile aromatherapy room spray in the home of the Georgia victim found the presence of these dangerous bacteria. 

The aromatherapy room spray was sold at about 55 Walmart stores nationwide and online at walmart.com from February 2021 through October 2021 for about $4. “Better Homes and Gardens Aromatherapy,” is printed on the label on the front of the 5-ounce glass bottle. The aromatherapy was sold with a pump spray nozzle in the following scents and product numbers: 

84140411420 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Lavender & Chamomile 

84140411421 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Lemon and Mandarin

84140411422 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Lavender  

84140411423 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Peppermint

84140411424 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Lime & Eucalyptus

84140411425 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Sandalwood and Vanilla 
 

Walmart has stopped sale of the product. The product was made in India. 

Consistent with CDC’s guidance, consumers are urged to:

1. Stop using this product immediately. Do not open the bottle. Do not attempt to throw away or dispose of the bottle.
2. Double bag the bottle in clean, clear zip-top resealable bags and place in a small cardboard box. Return the bagged and boxed product to a Walmart store.
3. Wash sheets or linens that the product may have been sprayed on using normal laundry detergent and dry completely in a hot dryer, bleach can be used if desired.
4. Wipe down counters and surfaces that might have been exposed to the spray with an undiluted disinfectant cleaner.
5. Minimize handling of the product and wash hands thoroughly after handling the bottle or linens. Wash hands thoroughly after removing gloves.

See CDC’s news release at https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p1022-aromatherapy-bacteria.html and https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/.

ABOVE IS DIRECTLY QUOTED FROM THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISION'S PAGE ABOUT THIS RECALL. 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiu8v3bxd_zAhXymWoFHQQ5DToQ...

[Mindy D]

In March-July 2021, CDC confirmed four linked cases (including two deaths) of melioidosis in patients from Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, and Texas. Most cases of melioidosis in the United States are in people who traveled to areas where the disease is more common, but these patients had no recent history of international travel. Whole genome sequencing showed the strains of bacteria (Burkholderia pseudomallei) that sickened the patients closely matched each other, suggesting there is a common source of infection in these patients. The strain of bacteria that sickened the patients was similar to those found most often in South Asia, which led CDC to suspect that an imported product may have been involved in the patients’ illnesses.

As part of the public health investigation into these illnesses, CDC tested blood samples from the patients, as well as soil, water, and consumer products from in and around their homes. In October 2021, CDC identified B. pseudomallei, which causes melioidosis, in an aromatherapy spray that was found in the home of the Georgia patient. CDC is continuing testing to see if the genetic fingerprint of the bacteria in the bottle matches those of the bacteria identified in the four patients. CDC is coordinating with the state health departments to try to determine whether the other three patients may have also used this or similar products.

Photo courtesy of Walmart

The contaminated spray – “Better Homes & Gardens Lavender & Chamomile Essential Oil Infused Aromatherapy Room Spray with Gemstones” – was sold in 55 Walmart stores and on Walmart’s website between February and October 21. Five other scents in this product line were also sold and are included in the recallexternal icon, although it is not yet known if they are affected. Investigation continues into whether other related products and brands may pose a risk.

Consumers who have the recalled aromatherapy spray in their home should:

1. Stop using this product immediately. Do not open the bottle. Do not throw away or dispose of the bottle in the regular trash.
2. Double bag the bottle in clean, clear zip-top bags and place in a small cardboard box. Return the bagged and boxed product to a Walmart store.
3. Wash sheets or linens that the product may have been sprayed on using normal laundry detergent and dry completely in a hot dryer; bleach can be used if desired.
4. Wipe down counters and surfaces that might have the spray on them with undiluted Pine-Sol or similar disinfectant.
5. Limit how much you handle the spray bottle and wash hands thoroughly after touching the bottle or linens. If you used gloves while handling the bottling or cleaning, wash hands afterward.
6. If you have used the product within the past 21 days and have fever or other melioidosis symptoms, seek medical care and tell your doctor you were exposed to the spray. If you do not have symptoms but were exposed to the product in the last 7 days, your doctor may recommend that you get antibiotics (post-exposure prophylaxis) to prevent infection.

Healthcare providers should watch for any acute bacterial infection that doesn’t respond to normal antibiotics and consider melioidosis, especially if the patient was exposed to the implicated spray during the previous 21 days. They should not rule out melioidosis just because a patient has not traveled outside the United States. CDC also urges clinicians not to rule out melioidosis as a possible diagnosis in children and those who were previously healthy and without known risk factors for melioidosis. For more detailed clinical guidance, including post-exposure prophylaxis recommendations, see CDC’s Health Alert Network (HAN).

Additional Resources

• Consumer Product Safety Commission: Walmart Recalls Better Homes and Gardens Essential Oil Infused A...
• CDC Identifies Rare Bacteria in Aromatherapy Product (October 22, 2021)
• Statement on Melioidosis Cases (August 9, 2021)
• Health Update: Multistate Investigation of Non-travel Associated Burkholderia pseudomallei Infection...

[spent2much]

THANK YOU!

[SandySparkles]

😲This is frightening! I LOVE scented room sprays, and have never thought of them as being remotely dangerous. This recall is especially disheartening because of the loss of life; particicularly that of an innocent child.😞

Thank you so much for this alert!

~~~All we need is LOVE💖

[PamfromCT]

Thank you for this alert.  I did see this on the news, but your facts are so comprehensive.  I am quite surprised that this product was not Brand X, but rather Better Homes and Gardens.  Very scary.

[godi]

Boy that's scary. 

[SeaMaiden]

I make my own room spray with essential oil and water.  I use a jasmine essential oil sold by NOW. 

This is so frightening because you would never associate a simple room spray with killing you. Make me never want to purchase room spray again....