A flesh-eating bacteria hits two men in Florida

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In March, an Ohio man visiting Florida for Spring Week went on a boat trip with his brother-in-law to the Weedon Island Reserve in Tampa Bay. A few days later, Barry Briggs felt his foot swell slightly and thought his sunburn was the cause. He took his flight home to Ohio, according to Barry's Facebook page Medical Updates.

However, during the duration of this flight, the swelling became extreme. Upon his arrival in Ohio, he was taken to the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where doctors diagnosed necrotizing fasciitis, a rare infection commonly called "flesh eater".

These are essentially bacteria that block blood flow and cause tissue death and skin breakdown. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 700 to 1,200 cases of necrotizing fasciitis are reported each year in the United States.

Although several types of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis, public health experts believe that group A streptococcal bacteria are the most common cause, reports the CDC. Group A streptococci can cause infections ranging from relatively minor diseases, such as strep throat, to very serious diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis.

The Vibrio bacteria is also causing about 80,000 infections and 100 deaths each year in the United States, according to the CDC. Consumption of raw or undercooked seafood or the exposure of a sore to seawater or brackish water are at the root of these infections, although that not all of them necessarily lead to necrotizing fasciitis.

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Usually, it takes a break in the skin to allow the bacteria to enter the body, but Briggs said that he did not remember being scratched or bitten, and his doctors found no trace of rupture in the skin. Blunt trauma that does not tear the skin can also cause necrotizing fasciitis, according to the CDC.

Skin grafts, surgeries and several antibiotics helped Briggs' doctors save his foot after 11 exhausting days at the hospital.

"It was an inch of time," Briggs told WKBN, affiliated with CNN. "I'm incredibly lucky to have all my toes, my foot, to be alive."

Injured hook

During the Easter weekend, Mike Walton became a second recent victim of necrotizing fasciitis. According to a GoFundMe page created by his friends, the Florida resident and the fisherman were fishing in the Gulf of Mexico when a hook had cut his hand.

A few hours later, Walton was admitted to the Tampa General Hospital for the growing black blister that he was carrying on the hand. The doctors informed him that the infection was spreading rapidly and that he was in danger of losing his arm.

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The doctors first opened and cleaned the wound, then Walton was operated on. He also needed an intravenous to administer powerful antibiotics.

Last week, an article on the GoFundMe page reports that his doctor suspects three possible infections that have not yet been identified. The crop will take several weeks to confirm.

Even with treatment, necrotizing fasciitis kills the life of 1 in 3 people who develop it. According to the CDC, this can result in sepsis, shock, and organ failure. Nobody is immune to an infection caused by a flesh-eating bacteria, but most people who succumb have impaired resistance because of other health problems, such as diabetes, kidney disease and cancer. Good wound care helps prevent all forms of bacterial skin infection.

The CDC recommends cleaning all minor cuts and wounds that tear the skin with water and soap. Disinfect and cover open wounds with clean, dry bandages until healing. Consult a doctor if you are punctured or if you receive a serious or serious injury.

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