Aromaterapijski sprej sada povezan s opasnim bakterijama

Dallas-based firm Aldous \ Walker LLP is representing 5-year-old Lylah Baker after she was diagnosed with a rare bacterial infection the CDC has traced back to an aromatherapy room spray. The bacteria have been linked to three other cases in the U.S., two of which were fatal.

The law firm has taken on the case of Lylah Baker, a 5-year-old girl from Bells, Texas, whose harrowing story has sparked nationwide concern over a rare bacterium that isn’t usually found in the continental U.S.     

As reported by the CDC, Lylah was one of just four Americans to be diagnosed with melioidosis in a linked outbreak between March and July 2021.

Melioidosis, also known as Whitmore’s disease, is an infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacterium predominately found in the tropical climates of northern Australia and Southeast Asia. It can cause symptoms ranging from fever, pain, and swelling to pulmonary infection, infections of the bloodstream, and central nervous system and brain infections that can be severe and potentially fatal.

The bacterium’s presence in the U.S. is rare, being limited to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the only place in the U.S. where it naturally occurs, and to a small number of annual cases brought into the country by travelers. The bacteria are found in contaminated water and soil and can spread to humans and animals through direct contact with a contaminated source.

2021 Multi-State Melioidosis Outbreak & Room

According to the CDC, four linked cases of melioidosis were identified between March and July of 2021. That includes Lylah’s case out of Texas, and three others from Georgia, Kansas, and Minnesota. Officials have reported that two of the cases were fatal.

Following a public health investigation, the CDC identified B. pseudomallei in an aromatherapy spray in the home of the Georgia patient that matched the genetic fingerprint of the bacteria identified in all four cases. The findings suggest that the spray was the source of the Georgia patient’s infection and that the spray or another product with the same contaminant was responsible for the other three cases.

The discovery led to a recall of the product, the “Better Homes & Gardens Lavender & Chamomile Essential Oil Infused Aromatherapy Room Spray with Gemstones,” and five other scents in the product line that had been sold in some Walmart stores and online between February and October 2021.

For Lylah and her family, the infection has been a battle. In May 2021, the then 4-year-old quickly became ill and in a matter of days was unable to walk or hold her head up on her own. She was diagnosed with melioidosis after weeks of testing and a five-hour brain biopsy and spent two and a half months in the hospital. Despite a regimen of therapies to help her regain the ability to eat, talk, and walk, her progress has been slow and her prognosis remains uncertain.

As reported by People magazine, the family had purchased the recalled room spray roughly a month before Lylah became ill.

Fighting for Answers

Attorneys at Aldous \ Walker LLP have been investigating this matter and have retained some of the world’s leading experts to assist them.  Based on that investigation, it appears that basic industrial safety processes would have easily prevented products being contaminated by burkholderia and sold to the public.  Based on this, the attorneys at Aldous\Walker are preparing to file a lawsuit to help the Baker family get answers as to why this unsafe product was sold to them and to, the greatest extent possible, bring about safety changes to deter similar tragedies from happening in the future.

CDC officials are still investigating the contamination, but have pointed to the water or gemstones used in the product, which was manufactured in South India, as possible sources.