• The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a national health alert to warn doctors and clinicians to be on the lookout for people infected with the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus.
• Vibrio vulnificus is a type of bacteria that can cause a fatal infection.
• This infection can happen when a wound comes into contact with raw or undercooked seafood, its juices, or its drippings or salt water.
• It eats away at the skin, muscles, nerves, fat and blood vessels around an infected wound.
• In severe cases, it can lead to septicemia, which is when the bacteria enter the bloodstream.
• It results in a septic shock, where blood pressure drops dangerously. Symptoms:
• Watery diarrhoea is often accompanied by stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, and fever.
• For bloodstream infection: fever, chills, dangerously low blood pressure, and blistering skin lesions For wound infection: Fever, redness, pain, swelling, warmth, discolouration, and discharge (leaking fluids).
• The only method available to avoid getting infected with the bacteria is to avoid coming in contact with it.
• It is advised to make sure any seafood you consume is well-cooked, avoid raw or undercooked oysters and clean your hands after handling any kind of seafood