Salisbury – Questions are being raised on the safety of water bodies after a boy recently got infected by vibrio, a kind of flesh-eating bacteria. However, the health officials have stated that the water bodies are completely safe to swim and these cases of infections are very rare.
His mother elaborated on what had exactly happened on June 15th. She wrote a Facebook post containing all the details. According to Carey, her Son was swimming in the Sinepuxent Bay just north to the Harry Kelley memorial bridge between the west ocean city and downtown.
She also mentioned that there was nothing unusual and that the boy enjoyed swimming. It was only on Monday when she realized that small red spots have been developing all over the boy’s body. On Tuesday, the spots turned into wounds. She thought that the wounds erupted because the boy was scratching them and making them even worse.
Carey mentioned it on Thursday that the boy was being diagnosed with Vibrio at the Peninsula regional medical Centre. The Facebook post was shared by more than 17000 people. Cases of vibrio and other sea bacterial infections have been reported both up and down the water bodies. A woman was infected by this disease, earlier in June and she died.
Who are at risk of getting infected by Vibrio?
According to the centre of disease control and prevention, there are around 80000 cases of vibrio infection per year. 52000 out of these 80,000 cases are because of ingesting contaminated food like an oyster. They also mentioned that vibrio is a self-originating organism which is found in the coastal areas, especially near seas.
around 80% of the total cases are reported between may and doctor but when the water is warm and it is suitable for the bacterias to grow at a massive rate. The average time of recovery from vibriosis is 3 days. However, those who are seriously affected by the bacteria can have a serious illness. It can also be fatal in some cases. This was the case with the Florida woman, last month.
According to the research institute, people who have a weak immune system and history of liver diseases are more prone to acquire these infections compared to a normal healthy person.
Officials have advised people to carry sanitizers to make sure that they instantly use them if they get wounds while they are in the water. Similarly, an advisory has been issued which says that the people must take bath with fresh water after swimming in these natural water bodies.
Humans can get infected by vibrio bacteria only if they ingest the shellfish or if they fall sick because of the breaks in their skin. Hence, one must take care of these small things before going swimming.
