5th Vibrio Vulnificus Death Logged in Florida

The number of people who have died in the state of Florida due to the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria has climbed yet again. The latest case comes out of Hillsborough County, bringing the toll there to two for the year so far.

The Florida Department of Health has a running tally of cases on its website. As of Friday – the latest update – the total number of cases this year had climbed to 11 with the five deaths included.

Hillsborough’s first death involved a man who was exposed to the bacteria while in Mississippi, Mara Burger, press secretary for the department of health, told Patch. The second death, confirmed last week, involved seawater exposure, Burger said.

The 11 cases have primarily been reported along the east coast, but Pasco County has also witnessed one confirmed case in 2015 so far. The Pasco case did not result in death.

“Vibrio vulnificus is a bacterium that normally lives in warm seawater,” Burger explained. “Vibrio vulnificus infections are rare.”

Burger said people can get infected with Vibrio vulnificus in one of two ways – by eating contaminated raw shellfish and through exposure to contaminated water by swimming with open wounds.

See Also:

• 4th Vibrio Vulnificus Death Confirmed in Florida
• Florida’s ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria Myths Busted
• ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria Warnings Go Up in Florida
• Florida’s Flesh-Eating Bacteria: What the State Says

The first two deaths logged in 2015 involved raw seafood exposure in one case and “multiple exposures prior to onset of symptoms,” in the other, Burger said.

Burger stresses the bacteria doesn’t pose risks for normally healthy people who don’t “have open cuts or wounds” who swim in Florida’s salt or brackish waters.

Vibrio vulnificus is often called the “flesh-eating” bacteria, but that’s not an entirely accurate label, Burger said. Most people who come into contact with the bacteria don’t show severe symptoms. Signs of exposure in normally healthy people include such symptoms as stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains on its website that consumption of contaminated shellfish or open-wound exposure among immunocompromised people, “particularly those with chronic liver disease can infect the bloodstream, causing a severe and life-threatening illness characterized by fever and chills, decreased blood pressure, and blistering skin lesions.”

When open wounds come in contact with Vibrio vulnificus, the CDC says infections that arise “may lead to skin breakdown and ulceration.” When that breakdown of skin tissue occurs, it’s caused by a serious complication, known as Necrotizing Fasciitis. It’s that complication that gives rise to the “flesh-eating” moniker.

”Necrotizing Fasciitis is a rare disease that can be caused by more than one type of bacteria,” Burger said. “These include group A Streptococcus (group A strep), Klebsiella, Clostridium, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Aeromonas hydrophila, among others. Group A strep is considered the most common cause of necrotizing fasciitis. Vibrio vulnificus and Necrotizing Fasciitis are not one in the same.”

A number of Vibrio vulnificus cases were reported across the state in 2014. Seven deaths in total were blamed on the bacteria.

To find out more about the bacteria and safety measures that can be taken, visit the Florida Department of Health online.

Image courtesy of the CDC