United States: Health officials of the region warned of the number of cases related to Americans infected with deadly flesh-eating bacteria.
More about the bacteria
The bacteria that live in seawater and estuaries is known by scientific name- Vibrio vulnificus.
As per the scientists, it proliferates in warm temperatures, and in infecting as twice as many East Coasters when compared with 2022, as per the latest data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Know the reason for its growth at present: experts
As per the scientists, the reason for its gradual increase is cited as the rise in temperature due to climate change in the US.
How the bug attacks us?
The bug could enter our body through cuts and grazes in the skin, which within 24-hours, starts to eat human flesh.
If left untreated, the disease can cause necrosis, which involves tissue death and the deadly blood infection septicemia, Dailymail reported.
As per the estimates, one in three infections prove to be fatal.
The CDC report on 3 states
As per the Dailymail report, in the three states- North Carolina, Connecticut, and New York, the data where was examined, and a report was presented by the CDC, which was led by the agency’s waterborne diseases expert Michael Hughes.
the cases looked up in the study were a total of 11 which were recorded in North Carolina, New York, and Connecticut between July and August last year.
In order to compare, during the same time in 2022, only five infections were reported- where none were reported from New York and Connecticut.
Before 2022, there were six infection cases reported during that period- which included six from North Carolina and three from New York.
Out of eleven patients reported in 2023 in July and August, eight died from the disease. The report found that the average age of the infected patients was 70, although one individual was as young as 37 years old.
Moreover, everyone except one had an underlying medical condition namely- diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and a history of alcoholism.
Two individuals were also reported to be suffering from hematologic disease, or disorders of the blood or organs that create the blood.
The reason they got infected was- that six out of all patients became after bathing in warm coastal waters, reported by Dailymail.
However, in two of the cases, the infection was connected to a cut on the hand while preparing raw seafood for consumption.
Raw seafood can also be the cause of disease!
As per the experts uncooked seafood such as oysters can become contaminated with bacteria. It is because these animals filter feeders- which means they are suctioning the water to find nutrients.
Therefore, after being consumed by patients, the bacteria in the shellfish can then cause the disease.
According to the warning by experts in the report, which stated, “Vibrio vulnificus infections are expected to become more common’ due to ‘coastal water rising temperatures,” Dailymail reported.
Why experts has been warning against rising coastal temperatures?
For years, scientists have been raising the alarm over warming coastal temperatures.
The surface temperature of water in Florida reached a record-high 101F, last year.
Alert and advice published in the CDC report
The CDC report also involved advice for Americans to help them prevent the infection. It stated, “Persons can take steps to prevent illness by avoiding wound contact with brackish water, salt water, and raw seafood and by thoroughly cooking oysters and other seafood before eating.”
Further, the doctors also warned that any open wound, even if it’s as small as a paper cut wound could trigger the infection when swimming in open water without protection.
The early warning symptoms of an infection include swelling and redness around the site of the wound where bacteria has entered the body.
According to doctors, in order to treat infection, antibiotics must be administered as soon as possible.
They also say that healthy adults are at lower risk due to the fact their immune systems are strong enough to fight against the bacteria, as Dailymail reported.
But those with underlying medical conditions- including obesity and old age- or who are on immune-suppressing drugs may be at higher risk.
Over the Labor Day weekend, millions of Americans were warned against going to the beach, and if going they need to be watchful against the Vibrio bacteria.