If you’ve picked up Walmart’s Better Homes & Gardens Aromatherapy Room Spray With Gemstones in any of its six scents in the past eight months, you should stop using it immediately.
Walmart has recalled almost 4,000 bottles of the room spray in 55 Walmart stores nationwide after a cluster of melioidosis — a rare but infectious disease caused by the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei — was found in the US. The recall comes two months after the disease caused two deaths, with four cases so far reported in Kansas, Minnesota, Texas, and Georgia.
The five-ounce glass bottle was sold for $4 on Walmart’s website and in stores from February through October. The CDC is advising customers who’ve purchased the room spray to stop using the product immediately, wear gloves, and double bag the bottle in clear zip-top resealable bags, which should be placed in a small cardboard box and returned to Walmart. The CDC says to wipe down or wash any surfaces or fabrics the product may have been used on — including hands.
The symptoms of melioidosis can emulate those of a cold, and its spread from person to person is extremely rare. The bacteria that causes melioidosis naturally occurs in South and Southeast Asia, as well as northern Australia and occasionally in the Americas. The CDC is advising that if you have used the product in the last 21 days and have a fever or other symptoms of melioidosis to 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 seven days, your doctor may recommend that you get antibiotics (post-exposure prophylaxis) to prevent infection.
Walmart is offering a $20 gift card to customers who return the spray — so if you have it, don’t wait.
