Flesh-eating bacteria may be spreading to East Coast beach waters, report finds
June 19, 2019, 8:31 AM EDT / Source: TODAY
By Scott Stump
A new report has found that flesh-eating bacteria could be spreading to new places due to rising ocean temperatures from climate change.
The report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Tuesday by six authors from Cooper University Hospital in New Jersey determined that the bacterium that causes the condition, Vibrio vulnificus, has been found in an area where it had previously been rarely seen.
Five cases of flesh-eating bacteria, which requires ocean water above 55 degrees Fahrenheit to live, were connected to activity in the Delaware Bay between 2017 and 2018, compared to one case of infection from 2008-16, according to Cooper University Hospital.
One of the patients died, while others suffered serious injuries. One 60-year-old man had all four limbs amputated after eating a dozen crabs he caught in the Delaware Bay.
https://www.today.com/health/flesh-eating-bacteria-may-be-spreading-east-coast-beaches-report-t156639
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