Flesh-eating bacteria case in Cape Cod prompts public health alert: What to know
Residents and visitors at Buzzards Bay, a community on the south end of Cape Cod, are on alert after officials identified a person with a rare, flesh-eating bacterial infection in the area. Officials said the bacteria, known as Vibrio, could pose a risk to others in nearby coastal waters.
The Vibrio species, which includes Vibrio vulnificus, can cause severe and life-threatening infections. Some can lead to necrotizing fasciitis, which kills off flesh around an open wound.
Many people with a Vibrio vulnificus infection can get seriously ill and need intensive care or limb amputation. About 1 in 5 people with this infection die, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill.
But it's not the first time this bug has made its way to the Massachusetts bay: In a news release, the department of health said there have been seven cases of the illness over the last seven years among residents of the commonwealth, including four who were exposed in Massachusetts.
The Vibrio bacteria and the infection it causes are usually more common in warmer waters, including in the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Texas and Florida, Dr. Larry Madoff told USA TODAY. But it's increasingly being seen northeastern states along the Atlantic coast, he added, such as Massachusetts and New York.
"It's associated with warmer waters, and our waters are getting warmer," said Madoff, adding that the area where it's been found, Buzzards Bay, is an area with estuaries, small islands and warmer water on the western area of Cape Cod.
The Vibrio bacteria also thrive in salty and brackish waters along the Atlantic coast, said Madoff, medical director for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences. Above-average water temperatures are creating the conditions that allow the bacteria to grow, especially in the spring, summer and early autumn.
Still, he said, there's no need for most people to worry, as long as they take certain precautions.
"I would not discourage people from going to the beach," he said. "The beach is good and people need to cool off."
What precautions should people take against flesh-eating bacteria?
There are several species of Vibrio bacteria that can cause people to fall seriously ill. So how can people protect themselves?
The bacteria is opportunistic, and it can enter the body through open wounds, health officials said. Foods like contaminated shellfish can also carry the bacteria.
People with health conditions including liver disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV or who are on immunosuppressants are at highest risk of severe illness from the bacteria following exposure.
Some precautions include:
What are some symptoms and signs of flesh-eating bacterial illness?
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, common signs of a Vibrio infection include diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, dangerously low blood pressure and blistering lesions. Wounds that become infected may be red, swollen or discolored and may have a discharge.
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