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A cleaning lady visiting Myrtle Beach , South Carolina , reportedly developed an transmission withflesh - eat bacteriaafter bundle in the ocean there with a cut on her leg . But what stimulate this infection , and can you really get it at the beach ?
Last week , Bonita Fetterman , of Lumberton , North Carolina , was visiting Myrtle Beach with her family , when she lost her counterbalance on the balcony of her hotel room and trim her leg on a chair , according tolocal news outlet WMBF . But the cut was n’t serious , and she later waded into the ocean , WMBF report .
Upon her tax return to North Carolina , her wooden leg began to blister and ferment over-embellished , and she was taken to the hospital . On Sunday ( July 30 ) , Fetterman ’s daughterposted on Facebookthat her mother " add up in contact with a [ life - threatening ] flesh eating bacteria after putting her feet in the water at Myrtle Beach ! " The post went viral , with more than 95,000 shares as of Wednesday ( Aug. 2 ) . [ 10 Bizarre Diseases you’re able to Get Outdoors ]
However , Myrtle Beach functionary say they could not confirm a link between the sea water and the woman ’s infection . " The city has been unable to sustain the fix or engagement of any such incident , " officials said in a command on Facebook . " Our sea H2O quality is tested twice hebdomadally , with excellent issue . If we can make up one’s mind where such contact may have occurred , we can order extra water quality trial to determine whether any connection exist , " the affirmation say .
Although ordinarily refer to as " human body - consume bacterium , " this shape is known to doctors as " necrotizing fasciitis . " It is a serious bacterial infection that destroys cutis and muscle tissue paper , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Several type of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis : group AStreptococcus(group A strep),Klebsiella , Clostridium , Escherichia coliandStaphylococcus aureus , according to the CDC .
In rare case , theocean - dwell bacteriumVibrio vulnificuscan also do necrotizing fasciitis . This case of bacteria is found in affectionate coastal waters and is present at gamey levels between May and October , the CDC says .
The way people usually become septic withV. vulnificusis by consuming contaminated seafood . But they can also become infected if they have an open wound that come into verbatim contact withVibrio - containing seawater . When this materialize , the bacteria can infect the tegument and do skin partitioning and ulcers . These infections can shape up to affect the whole dead body and may lead to living - peril symptom , include dangerously down blood insistence , according to the CDC .
V. vulnificusprefers to dwell in water supply that is at least 64 degrees Fahrenheit ( 18 degree Celsius ) , according toa reviewpaper published in 2011 . ( The average water temperature at Myrtle Beach this clip of class is 83 degrees F , or 28 degrees atomic number 6 , according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . )
Most cases ofV. vulnificusin the United States occur around the Gulf of Mexico . But worldwide , infections have materialize as far north as Denmark during the summertime months , the critique said . Last yr , a man in Ocean City , Maryland , go from aV. vulnificusinfectionthat he modernise while going into the sea near his home base when he had a cut on his wooden leg .
The CDC recommend that , to prevent infection withV. vulnificus , people with open wound avoid contact with common salt or brackish water supply or that they continue their wound with a waterproof bandage .
It ’s authoritative to take note that necrotizing fasciitis infections are rare , and they commonly do not occur in masses with healthy resistant system , the CDC said . People are at increased risk ofV. vulnificusinfections if they have continuing liver disease or other experimental condition that weaken their immune system .
Fetterman ’s daughter , Marsha Barnes Beal , say in a Facebook C. W. Post that surgical procedure to cut away the flesh - eating bacteria is the only option to treat her mother ’s condition . Fetterman is in the intensive care unit but in stable stipulation , Beal say .
Original article onLive scientific discipline .
