2024-07-31 10:50:37
Water temperatures are rising in the Baltic Sea – and the risk of earthquakes spreading. The city of Kiel warned about this on Monday. Infections with these bacteria can sometimes be fatal.
Vibrios are rod-shaped bacteria that are common in aquatic environments around the world, such as oceans and estuaries. Species Vibrio vulnificus with salt water with a salt content between 0.5 and 2.5 percent. Vibrios multiply very well in warm waters, so the risk of infection is higher in shallow coastal areas and when the water temperature is above 20 degrees.
Vibrios are also found in the Baltic and North Seas, and in the Mediterranean. However, the risk of infection there is comparatively low. The Mediterranean and the North Sea do not offer a comfortable habitat for viruses with a salt content of more than three percent. The Baltic Sea, however, is not salty, and therefore occasional infections occur there.
The current spread can be seen on the Map of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control look. RKI provides more information. Experts warn that vibrio infections, known as vibriosis, may become more common due to climate change.
What are the symptoms of infection?
It can be infected by contact with water. When bathing, bacteria can enter the body through open wounds. You can also become infected through contaminated seafood.
Symptoms include diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, earache and even sores, which gives the bacteria the name “meat”.
After infection, a sharp pain is often observed in the area of the wound through which the pathogen entered the body. The inflammation starts after about 12 to 24 hours, the skin hurts, becomes red and sometimes blisters. The infected tissue dies quickly and deep necrosis and skin lesions spread throughout the body. In the worst case, fatal sepsis can occur. If diagnosed in its early stages, the disease can be treated with antibiotics.
According to the responsible state office, there was one death in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania last September after a vibrio infection. As the State Ministry for Health and Social Affairs announced, he was 74 years old on vacation in the Baltic Sea in September and died as a result of the illness. Therefore, he has open wounds and is seriously ill.
Vibrio infections in the summer of 2023 in the New York City area
In the New York area last summer, four people were infected with the so-called flesh-eating bacteria and three died. This is the pathogen Vibrio vulnificus. These vibrios are gram-negative bacteria and live in slightly salty water.
Two of the victims were probably infected while swimming on the Connecticut coast, as they were “The New York Times” another reported that it was an infectious disease. It is unclear how the fourth victim became infected.
Infections continue to occur along the Gulf Coast in the southern United States. But higher ocean temperatures could also lead to increased infections in northern parts of the American coast.
The pathogen also belongs to vibrios Vibrio choleraewhich produces cholera toxin and causes severe diarrheal disease.
This article about vibrio infections was published in August 2023 and has been updated based on developments.
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