4th person in US mysteriously stricken with deadly bacteria from South Asia

Enlarge / Burkholderia pseudomallei grown on sheep blood agar for 24 hours. B. pseudomallei is a Gram-negative aerobic bacteria, and it's the causative agent of melioidosis. (credit: Getty | CDC/Courtesy of Larry Stauffer, Oregon State Public Health Laboratory)

A fourth person in a fourth US state has mysteriously contracted a deadly South Asian bacterium without leaving the continental US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday.

Two of the four cases have been fatal, including the latest one identified in Georgia late last month during a post-mortem exam.

CDC investigators determined that all four cases are connected and they suspect a so-far-unknown imported product may be to blame. The CDC had released an advisory on June 30 about the three earlier cases.

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