In Florida, a growing number of cases of infection with carnivorous bacteria: doctors are sounding the alarm

In the Gulf of Mexico, the number of carnivorous bacteria is increasing as the water in the ocean heats up due to climate change.

Фото: Depositphotos

At least three people have developed necrotic fasciitis on the coast of the Gulf of Florida in the last month, a complication of infection caused by bacteria vibrio vulnificus, also known as carnivorous bacteria, writes Independent.

Vibrio vulnificus live in brackish and salty water, the surface temperature of which is above 13 degrees Celsius. They can cause infections when swimming or consuming raw mollusks from polluted water. People with open wounds and a weakened immune system are especially at risk.

On the subject: What you need to know about carnivorous bacteria and how to protect yourself from them

In July, the 12-year-old girl contracted carnivorous bacteria while hiking on the beach at Destin Bay in Florida. Infection occurred due to a cut on the leg. She went through a difficult treatment process and, fortunately, survived.

A Memphis, Tennessee man who was battling cancer died due to bacteria after swimming in Okaloosa County, Florida. Twelve hours after visiting the beach, he “woke up with fever, chills and cramps.” He returned to Memphis and went to the hospital, where doctors discovered a "severely swollen black spot on his back." Eventually he died less than 48 hours after visiting the beach.

77-year-old woman also died of this infection in june, having been on a beach in central Florida, in the bay in St. Petersburg. She cut her leg while swimming, and 24 hours after leaving the water felt pain. The next day, her leg became red and swollen. In the end, her leg turned black due to the intensification and spread of the infection. She died a week later in a hospice.

Infection from carnivorous bacteria develops rapidly, is accompanied by pain, nausea, flu-like symptoms and quickly destroys the body.

On the subject: 10 doctors, 65 days in the hospital and skinned skin: how the American overcame carnivorous bacteria

According to Catherine Doctor, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Cooper Clinic, the ever warmer waters in the Chesapeake Bay and along the Gulf Coast have led to serious bacterial incidents.

“We saw three cases of serious skin infections in 2017 that we were concerned about. In 2018, we saw two more cases. These five cases (in 2019) are significant because in the eight years leading up to 2017, we only saw one case of Vibrio vulnificus in the area,” Doctor said.

Carnivorous bacteria have also been found in waters north of Florida. Last week man contracted by these bacteria during kayaking in the Tennessee River in North Alabama. He survived, as did a child who became infected with carnivorous bacteria while swimming in Cinepaxent Bay near Ocean City, Maryland, in June.

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