As if a natural disaster isn’t enough, the aftermath can sometimes be worse. Hurricanes churn up a lot of debris, sediment, beach, and anything in their path. Some of these things are bacteria better left hidden that now threaten the very clean-up the hurricane caused. The amount of fuel, sewage and myriad other unknowns left in the water is goliath. It makes beautiful water now black, foul-odored, and a thriving environment for the nastiest of bugs. Enter vibrio.
Vibriosis
Vibrio is a gram negative rod bacterium. It lives in warm salt waters and brackish waters (where fresh water mixes with salt water such as the river’s edge to the ocean). It causes serious infections of the skin and gastrointestinal tract called vibriosis.
Vibrio species causing vibriosis include V. vulniferus, V. Parahaemolyticus, and V. Alginolyticus. They are related to Vibrio cholerae which causes cholera, a more well known vibrio infection. Cholera causes gastrointestinal disease via a toxin from the bacteria instead of an infection like it’s 3 cousins above.
Vibrio infection on the skin can cause Necrotizing fasciitis which is often called the flesh-eating disease. This is life-threatening and demands immediate medical attention.
Vibrio infection can also become septic. Sepsis is where an infection gets into the blood stream and spreads throughout your body killing your organs. You will have fever, chills, nausea, very low blood pressure and blistering skin lesions. Now you are in septic shock.
You are at an increased risk of becoming infected with Vibrio if you have a decreased immune system such as having diabetes, liver disease, cancer, taking immune suppressant medications, HIV, or thalassemia. If you take medications such as Prilosec that decrease your stomach acid you are also at risk for vibriosis or if you’ve had part of your stomach removed. If you have any of these issues you are 80% more likely to develop septic shock from Vibrio vulniferus infection. At the point of sepsis from vibrio the death rate is 50%.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3114415/ Vibrio fulniferus necrotizing fasciitis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3114415/
How can I become infected with vibrio?
- Warm salt water exposure to an open wound followed by painful swelling and redness at the site. There may sometimes be oozing pustular liquid coming from the wound.
- Swallowing it, often from raw oysters, causes vomiting, watery diarrhea, nausea, fever and abdominal pain
How is Vibrio treated?
In the hospital. Let me repeat this, IN THE HOSPITAL. This is a very serious, rare, but highly fatal infection. If there is any chance you have vibriosis such as a painful, swollen wound after swimming in the ocean or diarrhea and abdominal pain after eating shellfish you need to go to the hospital immediately.
Vibro infection is confirmed by a culture of the wound, stool or blood. Your doctor will request a special media for the culture if they are concerned for vibrio infection. But they will not wait for the culture to come back to start treatment. Treatment needs started ASAP!
The current recommended treatment for Vibrio vulniferus is with doxycycline by IV or mouth and cephalosporin by shot or IV. A flourquinilone may also be used. Children may be given Bactrim and an Aminoglycoside instead.
You will need to have the area monitored and debrided due to necrotizing facitiis. Debriding is basically cutting away dead areas of skin to help stimulate new growth while the infection is healing. You may also need amputations to keep it from spreading. Yes, your doctors may have to start cutting off parts of your body due to this disease. This is very serious and the sooner you are seen and properly treated the better are your chances for survival.
Survival
One out of 5 persons that become infected with vibrio die. According to the Florida Health Department statistics it is worse in the sunshine states with 1 out of every 3 people infected dying. That death is quite quickly, often within a few days of infection. Vibrio quickly causes sepsis where it spreads throughout the blood stream leading to organ failure followed by death.
How can I avoid vibrio infection?
- Do not go into the ocean or estuaries near an ocean with any salt or brackish water if you have any wounds. This includes even wading in the water or walking through small puddles.
- If you must be around the water, cover your wounds well, then promptly clean off with soap and fresh water.
- Do not eat any raw seafood. Thoroughly cook anything that comes from salt water.
- Avoid cross contamination of your cooked food with raw seafood.
- Wear gloves and other protection when you have to handle raw seafood.
- Avoid salt waters after anything major, such as a Hurricane. It is common for the bacteria to be stirred up and concentrated in foul waters after a Hurricane or other disaster.
- If you have any immunity issues, always wear foot protection when at the beach to avoid any cuts.
- Know that while infections happen year round, they are increased during the warmest months from May to October.
Summing it up:
After Hurricane Ian, a friend of mine who’s a sailor, lawyer and a nurse, came to help saw a derelict boat with our fallen mast off of our vessel. The boat was in a salt water bay hit by the hurricane. She repeated nonstop, “No one is getting in that water!” It was the first thing she said on arrival and kept repeating as she departed.
Even 2 weeks later I received a random text from her, “Don’t you get in that bleep water!” It was accompanied by an article about the recent death of a man from a vibrio infection. He was here from Michigan to help us recover. He became infected from a cut he received while in our salt water bay. Within three days he was dead. Dead.
When she and her crew came to help we traveled via small dinghy in multiple trips to a large vessel on ocean water. We had 7 people between multiple little boats and the 2 tangled boats we were sawing apart. Not everything was visible (including a 57-foot mast!) due to being under the water but we never once got into the water. The mission was a complete success with no harm to anyone.
So the conclusion here is courtesy of my dear friend, Kat, “DON’T GET IN THAT ——— WATER!”