Is There a Link Between Climate Change and Flesh-Eating Bacteria?

Health Wellness

Climate change is a highly controversial issue. Many liberals blame it all on mankind and our pollution and there are others who claim that it’s more of a political issue than a true environmental issue. I’ll not get into that debate here, but will say that the climate is changing and it has always changed since the very beginning and long before man developed his industrialized ways. Is the climate changing due to man or part of earth’s natural cycle? That debate fills many books and will continue to rage, but suffice it to say, it is changing for whatever reason you want to believe.

However, is climate change having an impact on a dangerous and deadly disease caused by flesh-eating bacteria known as Vibrio?

Vibrio is a group of bacteria found in nature, mostly in coastal waters. The warmer the water, the more Vibrio bacteria, meaning that the incidents increase from May to October. First identified in 1773, there are over 70 species of Vibrio bacteria, but only about a dozen are known to cause vibriosis in humans. Some strains of Vibrio bacteria have also been linked to cholera. Two species in particular, Vibrio vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus are known to cause most of the human illnesses.

Infections can be the result of swimming with any kind of open wound or from eating shellfish, especially raw oysters. Of the 80,000 cases reported each year, about 52,00 are the direct result of eating raw oysters infected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Most cases of vibriosis are mild and the person usually recovers in a few days, but other cases, especially those involving Vibrio vulnificus, can be very serious and even deadly. This type of vibriosis infection is usually contracted through a wound in the skin.

How deadly?

“A 60-year-old New Jersey man is fighting for his life, and his limbs, after contracting an infection while crabbing in the Maurice River, near the southern tip of the state. Angel Perez developed swelling and pain in his right leg on July 2, according to WPVI TV. ‘It turned brown, blackish color,’ his daughter said.”

“A few hours later, the swelling and blisters had spread throughout his entire body. Doctors blame the infection on a strain of bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus, which is sometimes referred to as flesh-eating bacteria. They’re waiting to see if he responds to antibiotics, according to NJ.com, but three or four of his limbs may need to be amputated.”

A year ago, a man died after swimming in water with Vibrio vulnificus, shortly after having a tattoo. The bacteria entered his body through the openings created in his skin from the tattooing process.

Since Vibrio bacteria thrive in the warm coastal waters, then it only makes sense that the warmer the water, the more cases of infections. Between 1995 and 2005, deadly vibriosis infections have been steadily increasing and appear to still be increasing, leading some experts to say that there is a direct connection between the incidents of vibriosis cases, including the deadly flesh-eating cases, and climate change, especially in the waters off of the eastern US.

So, be warned that the warmer the beach and estuary waters get, the greater the chance of contracting some form of vibriosis, including the kind that will ravage your flesh and possibly kill you.

Climate Change Flesh-Eating Bacteria

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