Health officials at the CDC have issued a health advisory warning clinicians to look out for cases of Vibrio vulnificus, a sometimes deadly flesh-eating bacteria.
While Vibrio bacteria cause several illnesses each year in the U.S., it is the vulnificus strain that can lead to fatal infections, accounting for between 150 and 200 cases each year, according to the agency.
The bacteria thrive in warm salt water and can infect a person's wound if they swim in water with Vibrio bacteria. It can also be ingested via consuming raw shellfish like oysters. However, person to person transmission does not typically occur.
"V. vulnificus wound infections have a short incubation period and are characterized by necrotizing skin and soft tissue infection, with or without hemorrhagic bullae," the CDC's Sept. 1 health advisory states. "Many people with V. vulnificus wound infection require intensive care or surgical tissue removal."
The agency urges clinicians to consider the bacteria as a possible cause when treating a wound infection from someone who has spent time near warm salt water. Early antibiotic therapy and early surgical intervention can increase survival chances.
As a nationally notifiable disease, the CDC also encourages public health officials to educate their communities about the risks of V. vulnificus in warm salt water and recreational areas.