The bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, lives in warm, shallow coastal waters. People can become infected if they encounter it in seawater when they have an open cut or insect bite. They can also be infected if they eat contaminated seafood.
Infections are rare but can be life-threatening as they can kill as many as one in five infected people, sometimes within just a day or two of them falling sickand can cause necrotizing fasciitis, the medical term for a “flesh-eating” infection.
Flesh-Eating Bacteria Are Migrating Up East Coast As Climate Change Warms Sea
A new study led by the UK’s University of East Anglia shows that the number of V. vulnificus infections along the East Coast of the United States, a global hotspot for such infections, has gone up from 10 to 80 per year over 30 years. In the late 1980s, cases were found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the southern Atlantic coast. Now, it has extended up to as far north as Philadelphia.
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Researchers predict that infections may spread to encompass major population centers around New York. Combined with a growing and increasingly elderly population, who are more susceptible to infection, annual case numbers could double.
The findings are important because it is the most expensive marine pathogen in the US to treat. The illness peaks in the summer and sees the bacteria spread rapidly and severely damage the person’s flesh.
The projected expansion of infections highlights the need for increased individual and public health awareness in the areas affected. This is crucial as prompt action when symptoms occur is necessary to prevent major health consequences.
It’s Time to Act on Environment for Health Hazard Prevention
If greenhouse gas emissions are kept low, then cases may extend northwards only as far as Connecticut. If emissions are high, infections are predicted to occur in every US state on the East Coast. By the end of the 21st Century, we predict that around 140-200 V. vulnificus infections may be reported each year.
Therefore, individuals and health authorities could be warned in real time about particularly risky environmental conditions through marine or Vibrio-specific early warning systems. Active control measures could include greater awareness programs for at-risk groups, for example, the elderly and individuals with underlying health conditions, and coastal signage during high-risk periods.
Source: Eurekalert
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