Bacteria that causes rare tropical disease found in US soil

The illness can start with a wide range of symptoms like fever, joint pain and headaches (Dr Todd Parker, Audra Marsh/CDC via AP)

A germ that causes a rare and sometimes deadly disease — long thought to be confined to tropical climates — has been found in soil and water in the continental United States, US health officials have said.

The bacteria was found on the property of a Mississippi man who had come down with the disease, melioidosis.