Deadly bacteria kills 9 in Florida coastal waters

[flyrob]

Just a heads up to pay attention and attend to nicks and cuts and seek medical attention if they get wonky.

http://www.palmcoastobserver.com/news/p ... cal-waters

[Bille]

Apparently --- swimming in warm water is Very dangerous to your health.

I knew of a young lad that died in 2007,from a rare Amoeba that entered through
his nose and ate his brain ; had NO idea how frequent this happens till i did a
Google search for : "amoeba kills young man in lake Havasu" .

This is Scary :

https://www.google.com/search?q=amiba%2 ... al&spell=1

Bille

[RickI]

This goes beyond Florida, see below. If you are in warm seawater, seems like something to be both aware of and concerned about. Particularly if you go in with cuts, open wounds duct taped over, etc.. It seems to infect through cuts, open wounds and through consumption of raw/under cooked seafood like oysters. "State health officials say at least nine people have died so far this year in Florida " "CDC received reports of more than 900 V. vulnificus infections from the Gulf Coast states, where most cases occur."

"What type of illness does V. vulnificus cause?

V. vulnificus can cause disease in those who eat contaminated seafood or have an open wound that is exposed to seawater. Among healthy people, ingestion of V. vulnificus can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. In immunocompromised persons, particularly those with chronic liver disease, V. vulnificus can infect the bloodstream, causing a severe and life-threatening illness characterized by fever and chills, decreased blood pressure (septic shock), and blistering skin lesions. V. vulnificus bloodstream infections are fatal about 50% of the time.

V. vulnificus can cause an infection of the skin when open wounds are exposed to warm seawater; these infections may lead to skin breakdown and ulceration. Persons who are immunocompromised are at higher risk for invasion of the organism into the bloodstream and potentially fatal complications."
http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfb ... briov/#top

[davesails7]

How warm is warm? Our seawater gets up to about 85F in the summer.

[RickI]

Good question and looking further into it research seems mixed on the subject. They say activity may be depressed below 20 C or about 68 F. That is chilly in my book. At what temperature it really becomes a problem is a more complicated question unfortunately. Salinity is also tied into the events. The bacteria prefers low salinity water. It looks like the majority of infections have followed ingestion of seafood and about 25% through exposure of open wounds to seawater.

"Incidence

An average of 50 culture-confirmed cases, 45 hospitalizations, and 16 deaths are reported each year from the Gulf Coast region (reporting states are Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas). Nationwide, there are as many as 95 cases (half of which are culture confirmed), 85 hospitalizations, and 35 deaths."
http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfb ... #incidence


Precautions:

"Persons with open wounds:
Avoid contact between open wounds and seawater, especially if water temperature is more than 68°F (20°C), or raw seafood
Wash any wound that is exposed to seawater with soap and clean water
Immediately seek medical care for any wound that appears infected"
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2007/0815/p539.html

[alexrider]

Deadly bacteria on the East Coast and deadly radiation on the West Coast.
Chose the way you're gonna die.

http://jeromiewilliams.com/2013/04/12/h ... americans/

[plummet]

i watched this documentary stating the chemicals used to disperse the oil in the gulf of mexico was killing people.

http://www.thedeflationtimes.com/2013/0 ... d-animals/

[dyyylan]

"It's in seafood, it's in oysters," said Dr. Vandana Bhide of Mayo Clinic. "Recently an outbreak in California, but remember this is a bacteria that's always present in the seawater. It's not contamination of seawater. It always lives there."

[Jdude]

Maybe we are the ones invading...

scary, scary, scary stuff.

[kassak]

A photo from a patient with Vibrio vulnificus blood stream infection. FYI this photo is in the public domain and is found in every medical textbook in the paragraph in which this infection is mentioned. If you google image Vibrio vulnificus it gets a whole lot worse!!