A flesh-eating bacterium has killed at least seven people this year along the U.S. Gulf Coast, including two deaths in Florida and five in Louisiana from Vibrio vulnificus infections. The bacteria live in warm coastal waters and can infect people through cuts or by eating raw shellfish.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about one in five infected people die. Health experts say warming water temperatures are helping the bacteria spread farther north, and the organism has also been detected near the New York coast.
Maryland has reported more than 20 infections this year, prompting a warning against swimming in the Chesapeake Bay. Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said people with liver disease, diabetes, cancer or weakened immune systems should avoid swimming in brackish waters along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.
Symptoms can include fever, pain, redness, swelling and discharge around a wound, along with chills, nausea and vomiting. Infectious disease specialists say anyone whose skin is exposed to seawater should wash it immediately with clean water.
