We’re in the swampiest, doggiest days of summer, which means you may have heard creepy phrases like “flesh-eating bacteria” and “necrotizing fasciitis.” What are they? And crucially, how do we avoid them?
Welcome back to Make It Make Sense, where I ask journalists and regular folks to break down knowledge we pretend to know in casual conversation.
I turned to Tampa Bay Times reporter Abby DiSalvo to unpack recent examples in Florida, where health officials have reported 14 cases of one such infection this year. For more detail, read Abby’s reporting. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Abby, make flesh-eating bacteria make sense.
There are a variety of bacteria that can cause these infections. Two of the more common ones are group-based Streptococcus, which is from the same family as the bacteria that causes strep throat. And the one that lives in the water is called Vibrio vulnificus. Those are two names you can watch out for if you’re hearing reports.
Some of the bacteria are just living on surfaces, living on our skin. It’s not from the bacteria living in people’s mouths. It’s actually just because it’s all around us, and it happens to get into a cut. There are rare cases of people getting these infections because they eat the bacteria in raw shellfish, oysters or something like that. But the oysters would have to be contaminated in the same water that the bacteria was living in.
So if I catch one of these, what will happen?
The doctors I have talked to have said that the infections are rapidly progressing. With that being said, they can be easy to spot or know that there’s something going on more serious than a normal infection. You want to look for pain that’s out of proportion to the injury. Also, gastrointestinal issues can be common, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, as well as flu-like symptoms such as fever. Those can all be signs that you want to go to a doctor and get things checked out.
You recently covered a sad case.
The case I was looking into was a man who was living at a group home. He was bitten by another resident and contracted flesh-eating bacteria because it took him a couple days to get to the hospital. His mom is suing the group home for not treating him properly. The doctors weren’t able to treat it right away. It progressed down his arm, and he ended up having to get two of his fingers amputated. In cases like that, because it moves so quickly and because the treatment is surgical, doctors have to cut away the infected tissue.
Can you tell us the latest in Florida?
Yes, recently, there was a case in Palm Beach County of someone who contracted necrotizing fasciitis through the bacteria in the water. And they unfortunately passed away from the infection. Another person died from the same infection in Marion County. But these cases get more common in the summer as more people go swimming. As the water gets warmer, the bacteria tends to thrive.
How can we not get it?
In the summer, it’s especially important to be cautious around big bodies of water, especially warm, brackish water, because there are bacteria that can live in the water. If those enter your skin or your body, they can end up causing tissue infection.
I wouldn’t say that anybody needs to be overly fearful, but doctors that I’ve talked to said they deal with these cases about once a month. So, it definitely can happen. Avoid potential sources of contamination. But also just take care of any injuries you might have. Make sure to keep things clean and dry.
Have a topic you want broken down? Drop me a line at shayes@tampabay.com. And tune into our video explainers on our Instagram,@tampabaytimes.
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