A hand soap recall now reaches Texas. The soap may carry germs. Those germs can fight off common medicine. That makes some infections hard to treat.

The company Intercon Chemical Co. pulled six soap products. Lab tests found five different kinds of germs in the soap. Three come from the Pseudomonas family. Two come from the Serratia family. Some of those germs resist normal medicine. Doctors then must try stronger drugs. The germs can spread while doctors search for one that works.

The FDA is the Food and Drug Administration. It gave this recall a Class II rating. That happened on September 11. A Class II rating means the soap could cause harm. Most of that harm goes away with care. It is not the worst rating the FDA gives. Still, it is serious.

Intercon Chemical pulled the soap first. That was on June 29. The FDA added its own review later.

FDA records show 2,696 cases went out. That is close to 2,700 cases. The soap went to 19 wholesalers. It also went to one store. It reached 15 states in all. Texas is one of them. Other states on the list include California, Illinois, New York and Washington. The rest are smaller states spread across the country.

Six soap brands made the list. They are Laura Lynn Honey Apple Crisp, Laura Lynn Foaming Pear, Summit 150 Foaming Hand Soap, Vestis Foaming Hand Soap in Fresh Pear, Intercon Foaming Pear with Aloe, and Clearly Better Foaming Pear with Aloe.

Most bottles on this list are big. Summit 150 and the Intercon and Clearly Better jugs run near 28 to 34 ounces. Bottles that size feed wall dispensers at work. Offices use them. So do gas stations and public restrooms.

Only two soaps on the list reach home shoppers. Those are the two Laura Lynn brands. They ship through Ingles grocery stores. Ingles has stores in the southeast United States. It does not have stores in Texas. So most Texans who see this soap will see it at work, not at home.

FDA records name five exact germs from the tests. They are Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas monteilii, Serratia marcescens and Serratia nematodiphila. These germs live in soil and water. They also grow in wet spots like sinks and drains.

The recall notice warns the germs "can cause complications including blood infections, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, eye infections, brain infections, bone infections and heart infections." The CDC says the risk is highest for anyone on a ventilator. It also warns people with open wounds or a tube like a catheter. People with weak immune systems face more risk too.

No illness has been tied to this soap so far. The FDA has not confirmed anyone got sick.

If you have one of these soaps, stop using it now. Check the brand name on the bottle. Check the lot code too. Check the best by date. Match those against the FDA recall list online. If you used the soap and feel sick, even a little sick, get medical care fast. Tell the doctor you used the soap.

South Texas businesses that stock soap for restrooms should check supply closets now. A recall like this moves through wholesale accounts fast. Shoppers often hear about it much later.

Wholesale means the soap sold to companies, not to single shoppers. A restaurant, clinic or gas station might buy a case at a time. Workers there refill the wall dispenser from that case. A worker or a manager is the one who would spot the brand name and lot code, not a customer walking in off the street.

The FDA keeps an online list of every recalled item. Anyone can search it by product name or company name. The list also shows the lot codes tied to each recall. Checking that list takes just a few minutes.

This is a product recall. No one has been charged with a crime. El Tejano will update this story if the FDA adds more products or if any illness gets confirmed.