Flesh-eating bacteria found in waters near Gulf Shores, Alabama officials say
Flesh-eating bacteria was found in the waters near Gulf Shores, which marks 16 reported cases of Vibriosis in Alabama this year, according to the Mobile County Health Department.
A person was recently exposed to Vibrio parahaemolyticus, the most common infection in the flesh-eating bacteria family. No other details about the patient have been released as officials continue to investigate the case.
Last year, only three cases of Vibriosis were reported in Alabama, according to the health department.
Despite more than 70 Vibrio species that exist, only a dozen or so cause illness, health officials said. Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the most common of the types and causes about 45,000 illnesses nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
About 80% of Vibrio infections occur between May and October when water tends to be warmer in lakes, rivers, and along the coast, according to the CDC and Mobile County Health Department.
Different Vibrio species can “cause a skin infection when an open wound is exposed to salt water or brackish water, which is a mixture of fresh and salt water,” the CDC added.
People who eat raw or under cooked shellfish, especially oysters, also have a greater risk of becoming infected by the bacteria, the CDC said.
Symptoms include “watery diarrhea, often accompanied by abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, and chills,” the CDC said. Usually symptoms appear within 24 hours and last about three days without any lasting effects.
Although rare, people who develop a Vibrio vulnificus infection may become “seriously ill and need intensive care or limb amputation,” the CDC said. About one in five people with this infection die, “sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill.”
About 80,000 Vibrio cases and 100 deaths are reported in the U.S. every year, the CDC estimates. About 52,000 of these illnesses are linked to eating raw seafood.
The flesh-eating bacteria is not easily spotted with routine testing and many cases go unreported, the CDC said.
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 2:22 PM.
.png)