This Is One Big Reason Flesh-Eating Bacteria May Be On The Rise

If you've read any health news this summer, chances are you've heard about (and been totally freaked out by) the "flesh-eating bacteria" infecting people at U.S. beaches. While there are several forms of flesh-eating bacteria, the one gaining the most attention lately is called Vibrio vulnificus1, which is found in saltwater and brackish coastal waters where oceans meet rivers. 

Why it's kind of scary: If someone is exposed to V. vulnificus via a wound such as a cut, scrape, or bug bite, the bacteria can cause a complication known as necrotizing fasciitis2 (or "flesh-eating disease"), a rapidly spreading and painful infection that destroys skin and muscle and which kills up to one in three people who contract it.

People can also be exposed to the bacteria by ingesting contaminated seafood and go on to develop what's known as vibriosis1, an infection resulting in mild to severe symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, and fever3. 

Because V. vulnificus does best when surface-water temperatures are higher than 55 degrees, it used to be found primarily south of the Chesapeake Bay. But sea temperatures are rising, and a number of cases have been identified farther north in areas bordering the Delaware Bay, like New Jersey.

In fact, researchers from a New Jersey hospital, Cooper University Health Care, recently released a report in the Annals of Internal Medicine linking the uptick in these infections from the Delaware Bay with the rise in water temperature. Inspiration for the report came when doctors noticed a strange rise in V. vulnificus infections at the hospital—while there was just one case from 2009 to 2017, there have been five since 2017. (To make you feel slightly better, all five of these cases were in men who worked on or near the water and had health conditions that already compromised their immune systems.) 

You don't need to freak out just yet, even though the news reports would lead you to believe otherwise. "We are mostly hearing about this because it's a scary-sounding [infection] that is associated with the ocean, and this is the time of year when people go on vacation," says Labus. "The reality is that it's quite rare, and most people develop a gastrointestinal illness that goes away in about three days."

All that said, if you start to notice any funky symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, a weird rash, or skin that is painful to the touch after spending time at the beach, seek medical attention ASAP. "Prompt treatment with antibiotics may save your life," says Labus.