Flesh-eating bacteria found in swimmer who was at Cape Cod beach
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some species of Vibrio, such as Vibrio vulnificus, can cause severe and life-threatening infections, even necrotizing fasciitis, or "flesh-eating disease."
The Falmouth case was confirmed by local and state officials on Aug. 8.
The disease has surfaced in Florida and Louisiana this year.
Louisiana has reported the highest number of Vibrio vulnificus infections in a decade, with 17 reported cases and hospitalizations, including four deaths, as of July 30. This is compared to the 10 years prior, which saw an average of only seven cases and one death a year during the same time period.
Florida has likewise reported four deaths caused by Vibrio vulnificus infections as of July 24. The state has counted 13 total cases, a rate that isn't necessarily abnormal at this point in the year, according to Florida health data.
An average of 150 to 200 cases are reported each year, with most of them in Gulf Coast states, according to CDC data.
Vibrio vulnificus is a naturally grown bacteria found in coastal and estuarine waters — a mixture of fresh water and salt water - and can be detected in warmer waters, according to the statement.
Old Silver Beach is not closed and there are no advisories in effect, according to the town. Falmouth beaches are monitored for fecal bacteria by the Barnstable County Bathing Beach Monitoring Program, however, there is no way to monitor bathing water for Vibrio vulnificus.
The bacteria is rare in Massachusetts, but is slightly more likely in late summer and early fall when water temperatures are warmest, according to the statement. More cases of Vibrio vulnificus are being reporting in the north than in previous decades, which scientists attribute in part to climate change.
The town asked individuals to avoid swimming or going into water with open cuts, scrapes, or fresh tattoos or to cover the wound with a waterproof bandage. Also rinse any wounds with soap and fresh water after contact with coastal waters and seek medical care quickly if the wound becomes red, swollen, painful or is accompanied by fever after seawater exposure.
A Vibrio vulnificus infection can occur in at-risk individuals swimming in sea water with an open wound, according to the statement. The bacterium can cause illness through open wounds or consumption of raw or undercooked seafood. Cases of Vibrio were spotted in oysters in Wellfleet back in 2017.
At-risk individuals could include people with liver disease, diabetes, weakened immune systems, chronic illnesses, pregnant women, old adults and young children, according to the statement. Wound infections and eating raw seafood can put these individuals at greater risk.
For more information visit the CDC or Mass.gov.
Material from USA Today was used in this report.
Desiree Nikfardjam is a reporter covering breaking and trending news. She graduated from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. You can reach her at DNikfardjam@gannett.com.
Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Case of rare, flesh-eating bacteria reported on Cape Cod
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But the fear in her patient population is still palpable. One teenager at the clinic overdosed on Tylenol after panicking that her father would be deported. A 10-year-old boy began asking his mother if his dad should stop taking the subway to avoid detection. 'What should I say to my kid?' the mother asked Fernández. In those moments, Fernández said she realized how much of the burden children of undocumented parents are quietly carrying. Doctors in Fernández's network once hoped letters documenting the medical harm separation could cause would persuade ICE to exercise leniency. But after writing many such letters, Fernández hasn't seen evidence they work nor has she received any responses. 'We're trying to do something to help our families, but I'm not sure that it's really that helpful in this moment in time,' she said. In the Bronx, sign-up rates for guardianship workshops at nonprofit Terra Firma National were so low that they forced the organization to incorporate the topic into broader immigrant rights sessions. 'With our families, there's been a lot of trepidation, a lot of anxiety in even thinking about this concept of having a family separation due to ICE taking a parent away,' said Dr. Alan Shapiro, Terra Firma's co-founder and chief strategy officer. Shapiro is identified by his real name. Daniel, a 58-year-old undocumented hotel worker who has lived in the US for nearly 30 years, stopped sleeping at night when ICE raids began in Nashville this spring. Instead, he said he would toss and turn in his bed, kept awake by thoughts of being separated from his family and kicked out of his home with just one knock on his door. For the first time in his life, the Guatemalan-born father of four said he began experiencing anxiety so crippling that he needed medication. 'I feel something like a void inside of you, like a vacuum that's sucking you somewhere,' said Daniel, who requested a pseudonym out of concern for possible retaliation. Daniel's life before the raids had been steady: cleaning offices at Belmont University, then working at a hotel for the last 12 years. He and his wife raised their children with weekend trips to parks, beaches and aquariums. But after the first arrests, even grocery shopping became something only his children would do. And Daniel prayed daily he'd be able to return home from work. 'If it was just me, it would be one thing, but I have a family and kids and their well-being is in jeopardy, and that's terrifying,' Daniel said. With his wife also being undocumented, the question of who would care for his youngest son, 11, haunted Daniel. In early May, more than 100 people were detained in a joint operation between ICE and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The fear that rippled through the city's immigrant neighborhoods in the weeks that followed had noticeable impacts: At Nashville's Siloam Health, where Daniel is a patient, cancellations surged to 40% — mostly from patients afraid to drive to the clinic. And at Powell's clinic, which serves mostly Hispanic immigrant families, appointment attendance dropped by half during the surge in raids. That means missed vaccines, delayed newborn checkups and untreated illnesses. 'There's always been barriers for those families in terms of navigating a health care system in a country that is unfamiliar to you and in a language that you're trying to learn,' Powell said. 'What's going on with ICE has just added another layer of difficulty, because now we have families that are just truly scared.' The Tennessee crackdown is part of ICE raids that have intensified across the country since January: parents are being detained at home, at work and even during routine traffic stops. Often, they have no chance to say goodbye to their children or arrange child care, pediatricians told CNN. Without a plan, children can be placed in foster care or with unfamiliar guardians chosen by the state. CNN has reached out to ICE for comment. 'For every 10 people that are deported, there may be 20 American children that are dependent on that adult,' Powell said she has observed at her practice and throughout the Nashville area. When Daniel confided in his doctor at Siloam Health about his fears, he was given a 'know your rights' card and advised to complete custody paperwork. He and his wife signed a power of attorney naming their 28-year-old daughter as guardian for their youngest son. But for many others, just imagining separation is overwhelming. Dr. Jule West, chief medical officer at Siloam Health, says she can often see her patients' fear manifest physically in real time the moment the topic arises: 'You can see their bodies tense up. You can see their respiratory rate go up a little. They become more agitated,' said West, who is using her real name. 'I see in people's eyes that it's very overwhelming, and they're already concerned with their safety, their family's safety, their children's safety.' That visible fear is often enough to stall the conversation before it begins. West says that for many of her patients, even talking about guardianship plans feels unbearable because it forces them to imagine a sudden and traumatic separation from their children. Some parents say they don't have anyone with legal status to name as a guardian. Others have options but feel paralyzed by the idea of entrusting their child to someone else. Despite the urgency, many parents don't formalize custody arrangements. The thought of preparing for separation feels like inviting it. For others, logistical barriers — like long wait times at overburdened nonprofits — stand in the way. And efforts by doctors to advocate more broadly – such as distributing 'know your rights' cards, mailing supportive letters to families or hosting informational sessions – are sometimes blocked by hospital leadership wary of political backlash, some pediatricians told CNN. Still, pediatricians persist – some after witnessing the consequences of family separation firsthand. Shapiro shared a case involving one of his patients during Trump's first term. He said an 8-year-old boy with a severe learning disability was placed in foster care after his mother was deported to Guatemala. When he called her for her son's medical history, she broke down, unsure if she'd ever see her son again. 'It was probably one of the most heartbreaking moments in my 35-year career as a pediatrician,' he said. The boy was eventually reunited with extended family in the Midwest, Shapiro said, but he worries about the long-term impact on both mother and child. Now, he discusses guardianship planning in the same breath as diet and exercise guidance, marking a profound shift in what anticipatory guidance means. He often has the child wait outside the room with a book as he privately asks parents a question that is now as routine as asking about car seats, smoke alarms or safe sleep. Shapiro reflects on the shift: 'I never thought anticipatory guidance would include anything like this … where we have to have parents prepared for their deportation and for their children to be placed with other family members.' For families like Briana's and Daniel's, those conversations could be the difference between a child finding safety in familiar arms or facing the chaos of the foster system. Daniel takes some comfort knowing his daughter will care for his youngest. 'Thank God, it is a relief to know of the well-being of my youngest kid,' Daniel said. But the future remains uncertain for Briana, who still hasn't completed her son's guardianship paperwork. After hours of waiting, she left the legal aid office to make it to work. If deported, she plans to take her baby with her to Guatemala. But she is still working to get her son a passport. For now, she pushes forward, faith in one hand and her baby in the other. 'Every day I go outside with faith in God,' she said in Spanish. 'And I just go out to work to make money for my son.' CNN's Caroll Alvarado and Jamie Gumbrecht contributed to this report.
