Flesh-Eating Bacteria Cases On the Rise: Here Are The Symptoms

Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A “flesh-eating bacteria” called Vibrio vulnificus has been making headlines after recent reports of deaths and hospitalizations.

Every year, around 150 to 200 severe cases of Vibrio vulnificus are reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with most cases occurring during the summer when more people are swimming in the ocean and eating raw oysters.

What is Vibrio vulnificus, and does it eat flesh?

What Are ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria?

Vibrio vulnificus (V. vulnificus) is a type of so-called “flesh-eating” bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections. While infections with these bacteria are rare, they return yearly, especially during the summer months.

Microbiologist and distinguished professor Rita Colwell from the University of Maryland, who has been studying Vibrio bacteria for 50 years, said that cases of infections have increased manyfold in recent decades.

Around 150 to 200 cases of V. vulnificus infections are reported to CDC every year and around 20 percent of those infected die within a day or two of being infected.

V. vulnificus thrives in warm, salty, and brackish waters. Hence, V. vulnificus infections are most commonly reported in Gulf Coast states such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and particularly Florida, which has one of the longest coastlines in the United States.

However, there has also been an increase in V. vulnificus reports along the East Coast.

“Physicians along the Gulf Coast were familiar with this infection. But now that the Vibrio is moving up the Eastern Seaboard, I think physicians there—particularly those who work in the emergency room—are having to learn more about this infection,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told The Epoch Times.

Between 1992 and 2022, infection cases of V. vulnificus increased fivefold in Florida and eightfold in eastern states between 1988 and 2018, according to a 2023 research paper led by Colwell.

V. vulnificus is rare in coastal waters, however, after Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Helene in 2024, coastal areas saw an increase in V. vulnificus infections. The turbulence from the storm created runoff with nutrients going into the water. The nutrients feed the plankton population, which creates a hospitable environment for Vibrio as Vibrio bacteria attach onto plankton, she said.

While some studies have linked increasing water temperatures to an increase in V. vulnificus, some studies have contradicted the theory, suggesting unknown factors are driving V. vulnificus’s rise in the summer.

How Do ‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria Eat Flesh

Usually, if the skin barrier is intact, the bacterium cannot enter.

Flesh-eating bacteria commonly infiltrate through a break in the skin’s barrier, such as scrapes or cuts  and cause rapid and progressive tissue death as they release toxins that break down nearby muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. They can also infiltrate the abdominal wall, perianal, and groin area, usually among immunocompromised patients.

The body’s immune response also contributes to the worsening of infected tissue. As more immune cells attend infected tissues, pressure and air build up in the muscles, further accelerating the death of muscle tissues, nerves, and blood vessels.

Rapid tissue death is called necrotizing fasciitis and gives the impression that the bacterium is eating away at the flesh.

Some people can also contract necrotizing fasciitis by eating raw oysters or seafood contaminated with the bacteria.

Apart from V. vulnificus, several other bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis. The most common culprit behind the condition is group A Streptococcus.

Signs of Infection

The infection may first appear as a typical skin infection.

“So it starts out basically like cellulitis, with redness and swelling on the surface, and maybe within as early as 24 hours, they’ll start seeing big blisters that start off clear,” Michael A. Horseman, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice at Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, told The Epoch Times.

Flesh-eating or necrotizing fasciitis causes severe pain in the infected areas due to the pressure and tissue damage.

“Incredible pain is one of the tipping points,” Dr. H. Dele Davies, a pediatric infectious disease expert and the senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate studies at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told The Epoch Times.

Horseman said that some patients have compared the pain to that of a snakebite.

Some patients may show no signs of physical injuries, as the bacteria may have entered the body through orifices, which is more common in the immunocompromised.

Even if the bacteria entered through a wound in the skin, the infection may not appear at that entry site. Patients may also develop redness or a blister near the wound opening.

“Occasionally … you’ll see a blister that’s got blood or black blood underneath it,” Davies said, “but the key message really is they just show up with a lot of pain,” often without being able to explain the reason for the pain.

Redness, swelling, and pus formation may also occur.

Amputation Not Always Needed

Surgical intervention is the most important intervention in necrotizing fasciitis, Davies said.

The surgeon may perform a fasciotomy, opening up the skin at the area of pain to release pressure. The surgeon then examines the muscle, fascia, and soft tissues for signs of dead tissue. After dead tissue is  removed, the open cut is washed with sterile water to remove any remaining bacteria.

Antibiotics are also injected into the blood for support. However, Davies said the antibiotics cannot enter the fascia, so they are only given to prevent blood infection.

Gradually, the infection in the limbs can infiltrate blood vessels, leading to sepsis. Sepsis can cause the organs to dysfunction, and patients may experience a dramatic drop in blood pressure that can damage the lungs, kidneys, liver, and other organs, potentially leading to death.

Symptoms of sepsis include fever, shaking, chills, a drop in blood pressure, and the patient appearing pale and very ill.

Amputation in infected limbs is the final resort if the infection becomes too extensive. Usually, doctors have tried removing damaged tissues and prescribed antibiotics by this stage, yet the infection is either failing to clear or worsening.

“If they’re so sick that every time you check the blood, the bacteria is in there, that means you have a tap turned on somewhere,” Davies said, comparing the bacterial infection to water leakage in a sink. “If you don’t turn off that tap, no matter how much antibiotics you give, it’s like wiping the floor while the tap is turned on. So part of the reason you do the amputations is to basically turn off the volume of water that’s coming into the sink.”

Most People Will Be Fine

According to the CDC, one can reduce their risks of infection by avoiding salty or brackish water when they have a wound from a surgery, piercing, or tattoo.

The wound should also be covered with a waterproof bandage if there’s a chance of being in contact with saltwater, brackish water, or raw or undercooked seafood and its juices.

Wounds and cuts should also be washed thoroughly with soap and water after coming in contact with any of those things. While this may not remove all the bacteria, it can help lower the overall bacterial count and make infections more manageable, Davies said.

“All in context, this is a rare condition. Most people who are in brackish water or saltwater are going to be fine,” he said. However, anyone with underlying liver disease, diabetes, cancer, or who is in an immunocompromised condition should ensure they do not have any cuts or bruises before entering water.

Vibrio vulnificus uses iron to replicate itself, so people who naturally have high levels of iron are also at risk, Horseman said.

Cook Oysters Thoroughly Before Eating

Less commonly, V. vulnificus can cause foodborne poisoning through the consumption of raw shellfish and oysters.

Most people infected with V. vulnificus tend to experience diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting for three days before recovering.

In rarer cases, people can die from a gut infection. More than 95 percent of deaths from eating seafood are caused by V. vulnificus.

An infection can come from eating raw or undercooked oysters and shellfish that entrap the bacteria.

However, healthy people usually do not develop a severe gut infection from eating raw or undercooked shellfish contaminated with Vibrio, Schaffner said.

Immunocompromised people and those with liver cirrhosis or high iron concentration in the blood are particularly at risk. For people who develop a gut infection, if the infection is not eliminated, the bacterium may infiltrate the gut lining into the blood vessels, causing potentially fatal blood infections.

“This does not bother normal people [but] immunocompromised people are admonished not to eat raw oysters,” Schaffner said.