SafetyIssues Personal and Public Safety News Articles: Is It Safe to Swim Now, Doc?

Is It Safe to Swim Now, Doc?
================================================================================
Staff writer for safetyissues.com on 07/21/07 12:30:00
 
A 58-year-old man on a fishing trip in Galveston County went swimming and caught
something else instead. He was infected with a bacterium called Vibrio
vulnificus. It was not an ordinary infection; it developed into a disease that
began destroying tissues and would have cost him his leg, until doctors were
able to intervene successfully. Left unchecked, the disease can be fatal.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the bacterium is cousin
to the pathogen that causes cholera. It is a natural resident of saltwater areas
and flourishes during warm summer months. Swimmers with open wounds allow entry
of the bacteria, and those whose immune systems are weakened by disease (like
cancer) are most vulnerable.
This bacterium also contaminates seafood and causes most seafood-related
fatalities in the U.S. Those who eat raw shellfish at this time, especially
oysters, are likely to get infected.
The man was a diabetic and he had an ulcer on his lower leg when he went
swimming. The ulcer was still healing, and it became the entry point for the
bacterium. From the open wound, it proceeded to infect the bloodstream. For a
while, doctors thought they might have to amputate the leg, even as they
performed three surgeries to remove the infected tissue.
The CDC says cases involving Vibrio vulnificus are rare, but when they occur
most of them are in the Gulf Coast. Infected patients usually experience
diarrhea and vomiting; once it’s in the bloodstream, it may cause fever and
low blood pressure.
If you’re healthy, there should be no risk when you go swimming. But if you
have chronic diseases like diabetes or liver disease, or have open wounds or
ulcers, you shouldn’t get into the Gulf Coast waters. And do stay away from
the shellfish.