Indiana man hospitalized with flesh-eating bacteria after eating raw oysters

A man in Indiana was placed on life support after catching so-called flesh-eating bacteria in raw oysters.

Patrick Baker, 50, developed flu-like symptoms about one to two days after buying oysters from a store and eating them at home, his family said The Herald’s Bulletin. Purple blisters appeared on his legs and he felt what looked like growing pains. His temperature rose to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (F).

Worried about his condition, his wife told him to go to the emergency room. Baker was diagnosed with a type of infection called necrotizing fasciitis, caused by Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, which are commonly referred to as ‘flesh eaters’. Necrotizing fasciitis can cause the skin around a wound to die as if it were eaten. Baker caught the infection from seawater.

He was transferred to an intensive care unit in Indianapolis and then placed on life support for three weeks until August 2. He underwent emergency surgery on both legs to clear the infection and has since been removed from intensive care. Then, he will have to undergo procedures, including skin grafts.

Baker’s mother-in-law Debbie Huffman said The Herald’s Bulletin: “If the infection had spread to his abdomen, he would have died … He will return to surgery over time, and they will destroy his dead skin.”

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vibrio vulnificus kills about one in five people it infects. It can happen within a day or two of them getting sick. Many infected people need to have their limbs amputated and receive intensive care.

A person can get an infection from the Vibrio family of seafood bacteria, including raw or undercooked oysters. It can also get inside an open sore if it comes in contact with “raw or undercooked seafood, its juices or juices or with salt or brackish water,” the CDC says on its website.

Symptoms of a Vibrio vulnificus the infection includes watery diarrhea, often accompanied by stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever. Infection of the blood with the bacteria can trigger chills, fever, low blood pressure, and blisters on the skin. If a wound becomes infected, the person may have a fever, and the site may become red, sore, swollen, hot to the touch, and discolored. It can also leak fluid.

Doctors have told Baker’s family that he may not need to have his legs amputated if he continues to recover well.