Deaths from flesh-eating bacteria on U.S. coasts rise to seven

Miami.- Deaths from a “flesh-eating” bacteria have risen to seven in the United States this year after five deaths were recorded in Louisiana and a new one in Florida, both states on the Gulf Coast, where authorities are urging caution when swimming in the sea with open wounds or eating shellfish.

The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) reported nine patients with the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, all of whom have required hospitalization and five have died, exceeding the historical average of seven cases and one death during this time of year.

While health authorities in Florida, where the first death of the year in the U.S. from this bacteria occurred on July 30 in Palm Beach, the Department of Health reported one more death in Marion County, in addition to a total of 14 cases.

Authorities call for precautions to be taken

In light of the deaths, health officials urged the public to take precautions, as cases rise from May to October, when temperatures are warmer, and infections can occur when people expose open wounds to seawater or by eating raw shellfish, particularly oysters.

The bacteria is known as “flesh-eating” because a blood infection causes skin lesions with blisters, in addition to symptoms such as fever, chills, low blood pressure, watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, and chills.

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“People with severe infections may require intensive care or limb amputation. About one in five people with a Vibrio vulnificus infection dies, sometimes a day or two after becoming ill,” the LHD warned in a statement.

Each year, between 150 and 200 infections of this specific bacterium are reported nationwide, especially in states near the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Annual cases could progressively rise by 50% until 2090, compared to the historical record up to 1995, due to the increase in sea temperatures, which would imply associated costs of 6.1 billion dollars, according to a study by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).