{"id":7614,"date":"2015-07-09T09:30:37","date_gmt":"2015-07-09T09:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/?p=7614"},"modified":"2018-05-09T16:28:27","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T16:28:27","slug":"protecting-yourself-from-rare-flesh-eating-bacteria-found-on-floridas-beaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/2015\/07\/09\/protecting-yourself-from-rare-flesh-eating-bacteria-found-on-floridas-beaches\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting Yourself from Rare Flesh-eating Bacteria Found on Florida\u2019s Beaches"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Florida Health Department has warned residents and tourists of a rare form of flesh-eating,\u00a0potentially deadly bacteria that has made its way to Florida beaches. Vibrio vulnificus<\/em> has\u00a0already infected eight people this year, killing two.<\/p>\n

FIU News\u00a0sat down with Dr. Consuelo Beck-Sagu\u00e9,\u00a0a pediatric infectious disease specialist\u00a0at\u00a0FIU\u2019s\u00a0Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, to give\u00a0us insight on how\u00a0people become infected and the potential risks.<\/p>\n

\"HPDP_Profile_ConsueloBeck-Sague\"1. What is Vibrio vulnificus? \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

V. vulnificus<\/em> is a gram-negative bacteria related to the organism that causes cholera,\u00a0Vibrio cholerae<\/em>. But V. vulnificus<\/em> does not cause cholera. Like V. cholerae<\/em>, it thrives in\u00a0warm salty water.\u00a0When the infection is acquired by eating contaminated foods, it typically causes nausea,\u00a0low-grade fever, vomiting and diarrhea.<\/p>\n

When salt water contaminates wounds or scratches in swimmers or waders, the infection\u00a0is in the skin, causing pain, redness and swelling, blood filled blisters, and skin gangrene,\u00a0sometimes a \u201cflesh-eating\u201d bacterial infection picture. Bloodstream infections with\u00a0shock and severe skin lesions happen most often in people with weakened immune\u00a0systems or severe liver disease.<\/p>\n

2. How do people become infected?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Serious infections due to V. vulnificus<\/em> are not common in healthy people with normal\u00a0immune systems, but they do happen. The most common ways of getting infected are\u00a0eating raw seafood (oysters, clams, and mussels).<\/p>\n

Swimming or wading that exposes cuts\u00a0or scratches to saltwater can result in skin infections if the water is contaminated with\u00a0V.\u00a0vulnificus<\/em>. It is especially problematic for people with weakened immune systems, like\u00a0people with HIV infection or those taking medicines to prevent transplant rejection or for\u00a0arthritis or other autoimmune diseases, and those with cirrhosis or other serious liver\u00a0disease.<\/p>\n

3. How can people avoid becoming infected?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cooking or boiling seafood, and keeping raw seafood and fluids away from food that is\u00a0ready to eat practically eliminates risk. Rinsing off seafood with warm or hot water is\u00a0generally not enough to make it safe to eat.<\/p>\n

Not swimming or wading when these\u00a0activities could result in water coming into contact with\u00a0scratches, wounds or sores greatly reduces the\u00a0chance of being infected. If you get a scratch or scrape while swimming or wading,\u00a0wash the water off with clean, fresh water and hydrogen peroxide as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\"Vibrio<\/p>\n

4. How is it treated?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although V. vulnificus<\/em> infections can be fatal, if caught early, they are often treatable\u00a0with complete recovery. Reddening and pain around a wound or scratch, particularly if\u00a0the redness seems to be growing or worsening rapidly, or is associated with blistering\u00a0should alert patients to seek care immediately.<\/p>\n

People should seek medical assistance promptly if they have symptoms such as\u00a0mild vomiting and diarrhea, which can usually be treated with oral or intravenous fluids to\u00a0prevent dehydration. Severe diarrhea may and wound and bloodstream infection almost\u00a0always require antibiotics. Ceftazidime or another \u201cthird-generation\u201d cephalosporin,\u00a0along with doxycycline, is the best combination for treating V. vulnificus<\/em> infections that\u00a0need treatment.<\/p>\n

via FIU News<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Florida Health Department has warned residents and tourists of a rare form of flesh-eating,\u00a0potentially deadly bacteria that has made its way to Florida beaches. Vibrio vulnificus has\u00a0already infected eight people this year, killing two. FIU News\u00a0sat down with Dr. Consuelo Beck-Sagu\u00e9,\u00a0a pediatric infectious disease specialist\u00a0at\u00a0FIU\u2019s\u00a0Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[419,381,409],"class_list":["post-7614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-health","tag-newsletter","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7614"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7614"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15111,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7614\/revisions\/15111"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}