Imagine, if you will, a beautiful beach in Brazil, or Spain, or Australia. You've worked hard whole year, and the time to relax has finally come. You've had a couple of beers, music is playing, the water is warm, and the sky is blue — not a single cloud in sight.
You decide that it's time to cool down in the water, gaze into the horizon and contemplate existence, or whatever. While entering the water, you feel that you stepped on something sharp. Maybe it's a rock, or a shell. It doesn't matter; it doesn't hurt that much, and you quickly forget about it.
Now, as much as I tried to make this sound like a Twilight Zone scenario, it most certainly isn't one. I wasn't being overly dramatic, and this isn't a clickbait article with the sole purpose of causing panic. What this proverbial person experienced was a wound infected with Vibrio vulnificus.
What is Vibrio vulnificus?
Key terms
Necrosis: death of the cell or a tissue
Fasciitis: inflammation of the fascia
Fascia: The Latin word for the tissue surrounding the muscles, nerves, etc. which is located under the skin.
Vibrio vulnificus is a species of bacteria that is closely related to the bacteria that causes cholera. This bacteria has been found in specimens collected from ocean, sea, or brackish waters around the globe — Denmark, Spain, Mexico, Australia, California, Israel, Italy, Taiwan, India, to name a few.
Since this pathogen is present in salt water, the most common way people get infected with Vibrio vulnificus is by eating raw, or undercooked, fish or shellfish. And, while Vibrio vulnificus most commonly leads to death after a person consumes seafood, an infection contracted this way is actually completely curable, if the treatment is started right away.
On the other hand, Vibrio vulnificus bacteria can infect wounds as well. This is most common in people who handle sea food. Since this species can reproduce rapidly and grow exponentially in seafood which isn't cooled down right away, people who handle and prepare that sort of food are at great risk of getting their wounds infected.
The result of this wound infection is usually necrotizing fasciitis. The area around the wound becomes more and more compromised as the infection spreads, which leads to death in one in four cases. This, extremely painful, condition develops in a matter of hours, and often, the only way to stop necrotizing fasciitis from spreading is to amputate the affected region.
What are the symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis?
When we say "necrotizing", it literally means that a part of your body is dying, so you won't have a problem noticing it. This sort of infection spreads really quickly, literally in a matter of hours.
The symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis include:
- Extreme pain
- Fever
- Red, warm and swollen skin
- Ulcers
- Blisters
- Pus dripping from the wound
While necrotizing fasciitis can strike anyone with a wound, people with certain conditions are more prone to this type of infection than others. People with liver conditions, cancer patients, people with diabetes, and people with kidney diseases are at a higher risk than the general population.
How is necrotizing fasciitis treated?
Swift reaction is key. The sooner the treatment of necrotizing fasciitis starts, the greater the chance for success.
Since necrotizing fasciitis is a bacterial infection, antibiotics are the drug of choice to treat this condition. However, if a lot of tissue surrounding the wound has died, antibiotics cannot get to the affected area. In that case, the only possible treatment is surgical intervention. Sometimes, this means just removing the affected tissue, and other times, it means amputating a finger, a hand, or an entire limb — depending on the part of the body that was affected, and the extent of the infection.
How can necrotizing fasciitis be prevented?
There is no specific way of stopping this exact infection.
Vibrio vulnificus acts as any other bacteria would. So, you should do what you usually do when you have a wound. Cleaning a wound with clean (fresh, not salt!) water and soap is the first thing to do. Next, you should clean the wound with alcohol. Afterwards, you should cover the wound with a waterproof bandage.
You should avoid going into salt water, or brackish water, as well as handling seafood, if your wound is located on your hands.
As mentioned previously, the sooner actions is taken, and the sooner after you notice symptoms you seek medical attention, the better the outlook of this necrotizing fasciitis.
This is a condition which won't just go away on its own. If you notice that you have a fever, or diarrhea, or if you're nauseous, you should see your doctor right away. Pus, swelling, redness and pain are never good signs.