Officials are warning anyone swimming along the Gulf Coast this summer that cases of flesh-eating bacteria are on the rise. These concerning infections have left eight people dead across Florida and Louisiana, according to the New York Post.
Videos by Suggest
17 Infected, Four Dead, Along The Gulf Coast This Year From Flesh-Eating Bacteria
The Louisiana Department of Health has confirmed a total of 17 cases of Vibrio vulnificus just this year. This type of bacteria can cause blood poisoning, which can quickly lead to death. So far, four people have died this year because of it.
The number of infections has grown to a concerning amount this year compared to the usual number of cases. Just Florida alone has noticed 13 cases, all of the deaths coming from Florida as well.
It’s not surprising that a beach state like Florida gets more cases of Vibrio. This bacterium naturally lives in coastal waters, according to the CDC.
Typically, Vibrio becomes more prevalent in May through October when water temperatures rise. You can find Vibrio in both salt and brackish water, and often where rivers meet the ocean.
Vibrio can infect your system either through your throat (swallowing) or through an open wound. You can also get vibriosis just by eating raw or undercooked shellfish.
Symptoms of this infection include diarrhea, cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever, and chills. If Vibrio becomes a blood infection, you can start to get dangerously low blood pressure and skin lesions.
Your infected wounds will start to swell, look red, feel warm, and even leak discharge. Some call it a “flesh-eating bacteria” as it can lead to necrotizing fasciitis. This is when a severe infection starts to kill the flesh surrounding the open wound.
The odds of dying from this infection are one in five. Sometimes this can happen just within a day or two of being infected, so it’s important to notice the symptoms early.
You are also more at risk of contracting a Vibrio infection if you have underlying medical conditions. This includes diabetes, liver disease, thalassemia, HIV, and even cancer.
The CDC believes roughly 80,000 cases of vibriosis happen yearly in the United States. 52,000 of those cases are a result of eating infected food.