Case of Flesh-Eating Bacteria Reported in Alabama

The Mobile County Health Department reports that flesh-eating bacteria has been found near Gulf Shores, a city along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. 

An unidentified person was recently exposed to a common flesh-eating bacterial infection called Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Due to health privacy laws, no other details were made public regarding the patient. 

Vibrio bacteria are responsible for about 45,000 illnesses nationwide. This year, 16 reported cases of Vibriosis have been recorded, which far exceed last year’s totals. Only three cases were reported in 2020. 

Vibrio naturally lives in certain coastal waters, but infections are more common between May and October when water is warmer. It can enter the body through consuming undercooked shellfish or through a break in the skin. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms include abdominal cramping, nausea, watery diarrhea, fever, and chills. Symptoms typically appear within 24 hours and resolve within about three days.

Rare cases of infection can cause serious illness, require intensive care, or result in limb amputation. Flesh-eating bacteria is not easily detected, and most cases go unreported.