Vibrio vulnificus causing fatalities in US

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The Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, associated with raw or undercooked seafood and saltwater, has resulted in multiple fatalities in Florida and the Northeast. In Florida, five deaths have been reported this year, with two in Hillsborough County and additional cases in surrounding counties. The bacteria has also been linked to a death in Long Island, New York. The rise in cases is attributed to warming waters, which may increase the bacteria's prevalence in marine environments. Vibrio vulnificus can cause severe infections, including necrotizing fasciitis, often referred to as "flesh-eating bacteria." Infections can lead to significant health complications, including limb amputations, and have a high mortality rate, with about 20% of infected individuals succumbing to the illness shortly after symptoms appear.
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Rare flesh-eating bacteria kills 5 in Florida, 3 in New York, Connecticut​

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...nificus-bacteria-kills-5-florida/70631024007/

The Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, which can be found in raw or undercooked seafood, saltwater, and brackish water, led to the death of two people since January in Hillsborough County, home of Tampa, according to the Florida Department of Health. An additional person died in each of the surrounding Pasco, Polk and Sarasota counties. Florida has recorded a total of 26 cases statewide this year.

The bacteria has led to other recent deaths in the Northeast, where New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the virus bacteria was detected in a person who died in Long Island.

Warming waters may enhance the presence of Vibrio in the water and in seafood.

https://www.cdc.gov/vibrio/wounds.html

You may have heard that you can get Vibrio infection from eating raw or undercooked oysters and other seafood. But did you know you can also get a Vibrio infection through an open wound? This can happen when a wound comes into contact with raw or undercooked seafood, its juices, or its drippings or with saltwater or brackish water.*

One species, Vibrio vulnificus, can cause life-threatening wound infections. Many people with Vibrio vulnificus infection require intensive care or limb amputations, and about 1 in 5 people with this infection die, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill.

Some Vibrio vulnificus infections lead to necrotizing fasciitis, a severe infection in which the flesh around an open wound dies. Some media reports call this kind of infection “flesh-eating bacteria,” even though necrotizing fasciitis can be caused by more than one type of bacteria.
 
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Vibriosis: A 40-year-old woman from San Jose, and a mother of a six-year-old, lost both of her arms and legs after contracting flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus.

According to a friend:
Her fingers were black, her feet were black, her bottom lip was black. She had complete sepsis and her kidneys were failing,"
https://news.yahoo.com/us-mom-loses-limb-seafood-vibrio-explainer-180555130.html
 
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Popular article referring to the BA.2 variant: Popular article: (many words, little data) https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/17/health/ba-2-covid-severity/index.html Preprint article referring to the BA.2 variant: Preprint article: (At 52 pages, too many words!) https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.14.480335v1.full.pdf [edited 1hr. after posting: Added preprint Abstract] Cheers, Tom
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