Walmart Recalls Certain Room Spray Following Two Deaths

(RTTNews) - Walmart is recalling certain Aromatherapy Room Spray due to the possible presence of a rare and dangerous bacteria that is suspected to be behind two deaths in the United States, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

The recall involves about 3,900 bottles of Better Homes and Gardens-branded Essential Oil Infused Aromatherapy Room Spray with Gemstones in six different scents.

The products may contain Burkholderia pseudomallei, which causes melioidosis, a condition that is difficult to diagnose and can be fatal.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC has been investigating a cluster of four confirmed cases of melioidosis in the U.S., including two deaths. Cases were reported in Kansas, Minnesota, Texas and Georgia, including a child fatality.

The agency noted that the source of these four infections has not been confirmed by CDC, but the bottle with the same type of bacteria was found in the home of one of the melioidosis decedents.

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

The recalled aromatherapy room spray comes in six scents - Lavender & Chamomile, Lemon and Mandarin, Lavender, Peppermint, Lime & Eucalyptus, and Sandalwood and Vanilla. The product comes in 5-ounce glass bottle with a pump spray nozzle. The affected room spray was made in India, and sold at about 55 Walmart stores across the country and online at walmart.com from February 2021 through October 2021 for about $4.

Walmart has stopped sale of the product.

Consumers have been urged to return the bagged and boxed product to a Walmart store. Customers will also receive a $20 Walmart Gift Card upon return.

In similar recalls, Eco-Med Pharmaceuticals Inc. in August had called back certain lots of its Eco-Gel 200 ultrasound gel after 15 people got sick due to contamination with the Burkholderia cepacia bacterial complex.

Similarly, last year, pharmaceutical repackaging company Lohxa LLC recalled certain lots of germicidal mouthwash Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral Rinse USP, 0.12% over potential contamination with the bacteria Burkholderia lata.