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| Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/woman-dies-after-contracting-flesh-eating-bacteria-from-oysters/ |
According to a news report, a woman from Texas died after eating raw oysters. A report stated that she developed an infection with flesh-eating bacteria.
CBS News reported that the woman’s name was Jeanette LeBlanc. She went out with her friends and family to the coast of Louisiana to go crabbing. During her trip, she and her friends ate two dozens of raw of oysters. But after eating them, Jeanette experienced difficulty breathing. She also developed a rash on her legs. The rash looked like she had an allergic reaction.
Her condition worsened prompting her to see doctors. Her doctors found that she developed a flesh-eating bacterial infection known as Vibrio.
What are Vibrio bacteria?
They live in coastal waters. These bacteria thrive in warm water. That’s why they’re abundant from May to October.
You can easily develop Vibrio infection by merely eating uncooked or undercooked shellfish, including oysters. And if you have open wounds on your skin and it’s exposed to infected salt water, then you’ll develop this infection as well.
Each year, these bacteria cause around 80,000 illnesses and result in 100 deaths in the US alone. The majority of individuals would experience diarrhea and vomiting when they contract Vibrio from eating raw oysters. If the infection is mild, they can recover in a few days.
But some patients could develop a severe infection, resulting in bloodstream infection. One in every four people who developed a severe disease dies from it.
Unfortunately, Jeanette was exposed not just to raw oysters but also to brackish water. However, the report didn’t state whether or not it was the fresh oyster or brackish water that caused her infection.
For 21 days, she battled the infection. Then again, she wasn’t able to recover and died on October 15, 2017.
Because of that, her partner and friends want to raise awareness about this type of infection. If only Jeanette knew the risk was high, she would not opt to eat raw oysters or expose herself to brackish water.
