Flesh Eating Bacteria? Dont be alarmed! To all the people reposting the article about flesh eating bacteria in our Florida waterways. Vibrio Vulnificis is a common bacteria in salt water. It will cause skin infections in people who are cut on barnacles or objects in salt water. Just like staph and strep will infect cuts and scrapes on land. It is no more of a flesh eating bacteria than any other bacteria that causes skin infections. If you develop a skin infection it is important to tell your doctor that you were cut in salt water or developed infection shortly after being in salt water. This is important because Vibrio is resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat land acquired infections. If given the proper antibiotic it will respond like any other properly treated skin infection. If not given proper antibiotics then the infection can get quite serious just like any other improperly treated skin infection. The people that have died from it all have chronic diseases that impair their immune systems and they would have likely succumbed to any serious infection. The only new development is the Dept of Health just released the data on this infection and a media that makes a living on generating alarm ran with it. Joe Slattery MD
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:54:04 +0000
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