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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Flesh-eating bacteria cases are rising. Climate change is to blame, say
scientists
By Lily Hautau, CNN
Updated:
11:36 AM EDT, Wed August 27, 2025
Source: CNN
Just southwest of New Orleans, in a tranquil fishing village on the
Louisiana bayou, Linard Lyons spent the morning on his 19-foot boat,
preparing crab traps for his grandchildren just like he had done
thousands of times before.
This time, he noticed a tiny scratch on his leg – a scratch that .
Lyons went about his day but woke up the following morning feeling
“delusional.” Feverish and vomiting, he initially thought he had
just contracted a stomach bug, but then discovered a series of
blackening sores spreading across his left leg.
In what turned out to be a life-saving move, he went straight to his
family doctor.
Lyons tells CNN his doctor immediately knew “exactly what it was”
and sent him straight to the emergency room. In the “matter of maybe
an hour,” Lyons found himself in the hospital’s operating room.
That small scratch on Lyons’ leg became the entryway for , also known
as flesh-eating bacteria. Those black sores on his leg signified ,
which “affects the tissue under your skin,” according to the .
These potentially deadly bacteria are naturally found and thrive in
coastal waters during the warmer months, especially in brackish waters,
where fresh water meets the sea, according to the US Once largely
confined to the Gulf Coast, cases have surged along the East Coast,
with an 800% increase from 1988 to 2018, according to the .
50/50 chance of survival
“Do I have permission to do what I need to do to save your life?”
Lyons’ doctor asked.
These were the last words Lyons recalled hearing before surgery. He
immediately understood the seriousness of the situation and realized
his leg may have to be amputated.
“I was given a 50/50 chance of coming out of the hospital alive at
that point,” he said.
His surgeons were able to both cut away the infection and save Lyons’
leg. After three days in the intensive care unit, three weeks in the
hospital and various antibiotics, he was “cleared of the bacteria.”
It has been more than three months since he contracted the flesh-eating
bacteria, yet his recovery is far from over.
Recovery has not been comfortable for Lyons, who has diabetes; he
describes it as a “misery.” Yet, he remains hopeful that a skin
graft will be the final step in getting his leg back to “normal.”
Vibrio vulnificus should generally not pose a fatal risk to the average
person, Mississippi’s State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney tells
CNN. People with a weakened immune system have a higher risk of
contracting an infection, Edney said.
If you plan to be in coastal water, assume it is contaminated with
Vibrio and avoid the water if you have “cuts or wounds that could be
potentially infected,” according to Edney.
However, Vibrio infection doesn’t occur only through wound-to-water
contact. It can also stem from consuming certain foods.
The tiny print on the menu
“CONSUMING RAW OR UNDERCOOKED MEATS, POULTRY, SEAFOOD, SHELLFISH OR
EGGS MAY INCREASE YOUR RISK OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU
HAVE CERTAIN MEDICAL CONDITIONS.”
This warning, often found in small print at the bottom of restaurant
menus, may look familiar. In Louisiana, this specific warning must be
“clearly visible” at all establishments that sell or serve raw
oysters – with few exceptions – according to the
Vibriosis can also be contracted by eating raw or undercooked
shellfish. Most often it’s a less serious infection from a different
type of the bacteria, causing only stomach discomfort, but can
occasionally find its way into the bloodstream, according to the .
Oysters get their food by filtering out sea water. When that water is
ripe with bacteria, a single oyster could contain as many as a million
Vibrio vulnificus cells, according to , a professor at the University
of North Carolina at Charlotte.
The broader risk
Though it’s rare, “many people with Vibrio vulnificus infection can
get seriously ill and need intensive care or limb amputation. About 1
in 5 people with this infection die, sometimes within a day or two of
becoming ill,” according to the CDC.
Louisiana was one of the first states to bring attention to this
infection this season after it saw a spike in cases.
By the end of July, 17 hospitalizations and four deaths among Louisiana
residents, more than double what they typically see. At least three
more cases were reported in August.
This potentially deadly bacteria is not just unique to the Gulf states
and is being found farther north as water temperatures rise.
The identified an “extremely rare” case of Vibrio vulnificus from a
resident exposed to coastal water near Martha’s Vineyard. So far this
year, Massachusetts has confirmed 71 cases, with a 30% hospitalization
rate and no deaths.
Massachusetts, however, is not the only East Coast state reporting
increased cases. Virginia Department of Health officials say cases of
vibriosis across its residents have been “increasing over the last
ten years.”
Cases in North Carolina have increased 620% over the past 10 years,
and New York’s have more than tripled.
Scientists link this trend to climate change.
Climate change fuels the spread
The oceans are getting warmer and sea level is rising because of
human-caused climate change, and these factors are increasing the risk
of Vibrio infections.
Oliver, the UNC Charlotte professor, added that melting glaciers are
lowering ocean salinity – another factor that increases the threat.
“Open sea salt water has too high of a salinity rate for Vibrio
vulnificus,” he explained. But when fresh water dilutes it, the
“conditions become more favorable.”
As the climate warms, more bacteria stays alive through the winter,
which worsens outbreaks in the summer because we’re starting from an
already elevated level.
Dr. Rachel Noble, a professor at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill who has studied Vibrio since the early 2000s, told CNN
the increased prevalence of this potentially deadly bacterium is being
“repeated globally,” indicating a “complexity of issues related
to climate change.”
“This isn’t going to be the only pathogen that increases in the
face of climate change,” Noble said. “It’s just one example, but
one we can really learn from.”
Awareness saves lives
Lyons is encouraging others to learn about Vibrio and hopes local
leaders will spread awareness by posting additional signage to warn
both residents and visitors. Any wounds, even a tiny scratch, should be
thoroughly washed with soap and clean running water, according to the .
“I hope my story helps people understand what to look out for,”
Lyons said. It might even “save a life.”
If you develop symptoms, “seek help immediately and get to the
emergency room,” Lyons urges. “That’s the best thing. Just go
there and hopefully you’ll see someone who will recognize it for what
it is, because a misdiagnosis can be a death sentence. It really can
be.”
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