The “physical eating” germ rises this summer

Bacterial infection that can cause “meat eating” disease has become a greater problem in the United States-and climate change is at least blame.

Several states along the Gulf coast and the eastern coast have already reported a higher basin than usual Vibrio Vulnificus Cases and deaths this summer. Last week, for example, the Ministry of Health in Louisiana Release Warning for residents to increase reports on V. vulnificus. Experts argue that the most hot and hotter winter allows these bacteria to prosper more than before in the warmer waters.

“Every water sample we collect along the coast now contains a type of Vibrio. This was not true two decades ago, “Rachel Nobel, a microbiologist at the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina Shabel Hill, He said Local WRAL port Monday. North Carolina has witnessed 59 cases reported V. vulnificus And one death as of July 31, according to the data of the Ministry of Health that WRAL – the second highest number of summer in the middle of summer seen in 5 years.

V. vulnificus It is close to the bacteria that cause cholera in people. It is found in warm sea or salted water and usually enters the body through open pieces or by consuming raw shellfish. Wound infections can cause a life -threatening condition called FasciaWhich quickly kills the skin and tissues surrounding the wound (although this decay resembles the meat that is eaten, the bacteria themselves do not feed on our skin).

Only about 150 to 200 cases V. vulnificus We are I mentioned Annually to the centers of control and prevention of diseases, but every five people can hunt, and sometimes within days. There is an increasing evidence of its presence in the United States grows and expands in the range over time. Study 2023 Find The cases that were informed in the eastern United States have reached eight times from 1988 to 2018, for example. Harsh weather events such as heat waves and hurricanes can also pay infection screws. Florida Experienced A record number of 82 cases last year, with many of them arrived in the wake of Hurricane Helen.

Florida has I just saw 13 V. vulnificus Cases and four deaths so far in 2025 are not far from their usual directions. Other regions witnessed an increase, however. 17 cases have occurred in Louisiana so far, for example, with all victims entered the hospital and four people as a result – over the typical losses. During the previous decade, the state witnessed seven cases and one death per year from V. vulnificus.

These infections “eat meat” will remain a rare occurrence in the foreseeable future, but factors such as climate change and harsh weather events that will make them more common. So we must be more careful in the water that carries these bacteria. Health institutions recommend avoiding salt or transit water if you wear open pieces, for example, or at least wearing a waterproof bandage before entering water. You should also wash any discounts exposed to this water or raw seafood. And you must seek immediate medical care if you develop a skin infection that exacerbates the discounts after these exposure, because the inflammation of the spinal fags can progress quickly and turn fatal if it is not treated.