Vibrio vulnificus infections: focus on this “flesh-eating” bacteria

More than sixty cases and 13 deaths

Indeed, the number of infections reached the number of 64 this year and 13 deaths. Last year, there were 34 cases and 10 deaths. Faced with the particular climatic situation, these figures could increase rapidly and be particularly serious this year.

Each year, the bacterium causes 80,000 illnesses and around 100 deaths, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What is vibrio vulnificus?

This bacterium, which belongs to the same family as cholera, is found all over the world. Indeed, it lives naturally in warm salty or brackish waters. The heat of the water helps it proliferate. Infections in humans then occur during swimming or when a person consumes contaminated, raw or undercooked seafood. It is the leading cause of seafood-related death in the United States.

Different symptoms following an infection

When exposed to vibrio through food, people generally fall ill the same day. Symptoms in mild cases will be chills, fever, diarrhea, stomach pain and vomiting. In some cases, the infection will be more severe and lead to sepsis and death.

More serious damage affects the skin and creates sores. In this case, abscess blisters and ulcers appear on the wounds, affecting different parts of the body. The bacteria then creates a necrotizing fascitis, also known as a “flesh-eating” infection. Indeed, the infection literally eats away the skin, muscles, nerves, fat and vessels around the wounds.

Antibiotics are needed to treat the infection as soon as possible. In some cases, amputation will unfortunately be necessary. And in more severe cases, some people can develop sepsis, especially when they have underlying health conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, or any other medical condition that causes a lowered immune system.

In septic shock, the person’s blood pressure drops and death is rarely preventable. Finally, in other cases, sepsis triggers a strong immune response that will damage the heart or the kidneys or lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome, which will cause permanent brain and lung damage. In general, it is estimated that 25% of people affected by the bacteria and generating an infection with wounds are at risk of dying.

Prevention tips

The first prevention advice – and the most effective – is not to expose yourself to the bacteria and therefore to avoid swimming and raw seafood. If you still want to go in the water, it is important to protect yourself from any wounds (even a new tattoo or piercing) that could be an entry point for the bacteria. It will then be necessary to carefully cover them with a waterproof dressing.

It is advisable to wash your hands and any cuts thoroughly with soapy water after any exposure to water. In the United States, the authorities even advise wearing protective clothing and footwear to avoid injury after a hurricane, while cleaning up the debris.

Finally, for seafood, it is strongly advised not to eat them raw but to boil or cook them sufficiently, at high temperature, before eating them.

Is there a risk of being contaminated in France?

Cases of infections in France are relatively rare. According to a document from Public Health France, which studied the issue at the end of the 1990s, only “29 cases of non-cholera vibriosis were identified between 1995 and 1998“.

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Asked about the question, Professor François Bricaire, infectious disease specialist, former head of department at Pitié-Salpétrière in Paris and member of the Academy of Medicine, explains that he has never encountered a case during his career. Is the risk zero? “It can happen, but on a one-off event as is the case in the United States” he assures. “We cannot speak of an epidemic but it would rather be an acute accident in the context of a tornado”.