Climate change is to blame for an increase in flesh-eating bacteria infections in New Jersey and Delaware, according to scientists.
Researchers from Cooper University Health Care released a report on June 17 linking the uptick of infections from the Delaware Bay with the rise of water temperatures in a new article in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The bacteria, known as vibrio vulnificus, causes diarrhea, vomiting, bloodstream infections and the destruction of skin and muscles (also known as necrotizing fasciitis or flesh-eating bacteria).
The New Jersey-based hospital had only one case between 2009 and 2017. Since 2017, there have been five. The infections are still rare but study author Dr. Katherine Doktor felt it was important to raise awareness.
“As a result of our experience, we believe clinicians should be aware of the possibility that [vibrio vulnificus] infections are occurring more frequently outside traditional geographic areas," Doktor wrote in a release.
The bacteria get into the body via cuts on the skin, insect bites and burns, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. They can also be ingested through eating raw seafood.
Victims of vibrio vulnificus who develop the flesh-eating infection will notice swelling of the skin, severe pain and a fever which will transition to ulcers, black spots, blisters and pus leaking from the infected area over time. The infection spreads quickly. While antibiotics are used in treating it, oftentimes amputations and other surgeries are conducted to stop the spread.
Vibrio vulnificus is native to the eastern seaboard, but it used to stay further south. It does best when surface-water temperature is above 55 degrees. In the past, it’s been primarily found in and south of the Chesapeake Bay. The Delaware Bay, which borders southern New Jersey and Delaware, is usually too cool.
But with the rise in sea temperatures, that’s changed.
Of the five cases since 2017 at Cooper University Health Care, one led to the death of the patient. Other patients have had to undergo skin grafting, amputation and skin removal. All the victims were men, several of whom had contracted the bacteria after eating crabs.
Doctors recommend you only eat seafood that has been properly cooked. The CDC also advises against eating raw oysters, noting that vibrio bacteria tend to live in the same places as oysters and that the oysters’ natural filtering system can lead to bacteria concentrating in their tissues.
Vibrio vulnificus is found in brackish water (water that is a mix of salt and fresh), like what is found in the Delaware Bay.