Carnivorous bacteria can devour a human arm and leg in just three days

A deadly threat

These bacteria have many cellular weapons, including various toxins, which help the bacteria steal cells, siphon nutrients, destroy proteins, break blood vessels, release blood vessels, fuel inflammation, suppress the immune system, and often destroy the victims.

The total number of deaths of V. vulnificus disease is about 35 percent. But for anyone infected with the virus who also has immune or liver problems, the death rate is 50-60 percent. Similarly, for those who develop sepsis – a life-threatening infection – the death rate is about 50 percent. For patients like the man in this case, if antibiotics or removal of necrotic tissue is delayed, mortality jumps to 100 percent.

In this case, the man did not die. But when he arrived at the hospital, his right leg was so severe that it had to be amputated above the knee. His arm, in turn, required extensive skin grafting, which was gathered from elsewhere on his body. After a course of antibiotics and six months of recovery, the doctors declared her to be fully recovered.

This case showed that the threat of V. vulnificus it’s only increasing amid climate change, and medical experts see its rise as an urgent public health problem. Water temperature, geographic spread, and increased antibiotic resistance are threats. Between 1998 and 2018, US cases of V. vulnificus an eight-fold increase, including a spread to areas where the bacteria are considered rare, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

“The abundance and diversity of places V. vulnificus are expected to increase due to climate change, such as rising water temperatures, storms, changes in salinity, and algal blooms,” wrote the man’s doctors.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that preventing a Vibrio disease, only eat well-cooked fish and wash your hands after handling raw fish. If you have an open wound, avoid salt water or cover it tightly. If you are injured in salt water or if an existing wound is exposed, wash it with soap and clean water.