Deadly flesh-eating bacteria: CDC warns people with open wounds to stay out of coastal waters

If you’re planning on going for a swim in the ocean during these last few weeks of summer, you should be aware of one of the latest health alerts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That alert is about the increasing spread of a flesh-eating bacteria in America’s eastern coastal waters. Here’s what you need to know.

What’s happened? Earlier this month, the CDC issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory after an uptick in infections and deaths from the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, otherwise known as the flesh-eating bacteria.
What is Vibrio vulnificus? According to the CDC, Vibrio is a family of bacteria that cause around 80,000 illnesses in the United States each year. Most of the bacteria in this family can cause symptoms like diarrhea and stomach cramps in humans. But one specific type of Vibrio—Vibrio vulnificus, specifically—infects the areas around open wounds, which can lead to the death of tissues. Up to 200 Vibrio vulnificus infections are reported to the CDC every year and about 20% of those infected die from the infection, sometimes in as quickly as 48 hours after contracting the bacteria.
Are there other ways you can contract a Vibrio vulnificus infection? Yes. Besides Vibrio vulnificus infecting open wounds—which could be as minor as a paper cut—you can also contract the bacteria by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters.
Why is the CDC warning of Vibrio vulnificus infections now? Because cases seem to be on the rise. Recently in Florida, five people died from Vibrio vulnificus, reports NJ.com. But the bacteria, which is usually found in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, is migrating northward into the waters up to and around the East Coast states. As the bacteria migrate, more swimmers in state waters along the East Coast are likely to contract the infection.
Why is Vibrio vulnificus migrating? Simply put: because of climate change. Climate change is leading to warmer waters around the United States, and Vibrio vulnificus lives in warmer waters. Previously those warmer waters were limited to the gulf area, but climate change is warming all the waters that surround the United States.
What are the symptoms of Vibrio vulnificus infection? The CDC says common symptoms are watery diarrhea, which is often accompanied by stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, and fever. If the bacteria has entered your bloodstream you may also experience chills, blistering skin lesions, and dangerously low blood pressure. And if Vibrio vulnificus has infected a wound, you may likely see redness, swelling, discoloration, and discharge of leaky fluids around the wound. You will also likely experience fever, pain, and warmth.
How is a Vibrio vulnificus infection treated? Very aggressively. In order to stop a wound infection from spreading throughout the body, limbs are often amputated.
Is there any good news? Not really. Due to the climate change-induced warming of the oceans surrounding the United States, scientists estimate that by 2040, Vibrio vulnificus will be found in all the east coast waters that surround the United States, reports the Daily Mail. This means that every time you go for a swim in America’s eastern ocean, you will be at risk of contracting the flesh-eating bacteria.