With beach vacation season underway, scientists are sounding the alarm on a horrifying infection spreading throughout US coastlines.
Doctors from the Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ, are warning swimmers and fishermen in the Northeast about so-called “flesh-eating” bacteria, which they say could be spreading as a result of climate change.
The researchers report an uptick in cases of Vibrio vulnificus infection — a class of bacteria known for causing necrotizing fasciitis, a condition which rapidly kills skin and muscle tissue, and frequently requires an amputation, if it’s not fatal. The bacteria enters the bloodstream either through a wound which makes contact with infected water, or via eating contaminated seafood.
“We believe that clinicians should be aware of the possibility that V. vulnificus infections are occurring more frequently outside traditional geographic areas,” the authors write in their report published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
There have been several reports of flesh-eating bacteria in recent history, though most have occurred in warmer regions such as the Gulf of Mexico. V. vulnificus needs an environment at or above 55 degrees Fahrenheit to survive and multiply, and scientists fear that warming waters associated with climate change is helping to create a favorable home in areas once too cold to support this harmful bacterial growth.
Between 2008 and 2016, just one case of V. vulnificus was reported at Cooper University Hospital, but the summers of 2017 and 2018 brought in another five cases — by folks who had either gone crabbing or eaten seafood in the Delaware Bay area. While not all of those who contract the infection will develop necrotizing fasciitis (or develop many discernible symptoms at all) these five cases did. One patient had all four limbs amputated. Another developed a subsequent heart condition and died.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) assures that those with healthy immune systems are less susceptible to V. vulnificus’ disturbing symptoms. Of the five cases detailed in this report, two patients had been diagnosed with immunosuppressive diseases hepatitis B or C; another had diabetes.
The CDC is advising coastal communities to avoid water if they are wounded, or cover the lesion with a waterproof bandage. They also suggest cutting down on the consumption of raw or undercooked shellfish