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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (FOX 13) – The second case of flesh-eating bacteria has been reported outside the San Francisco Bay Area, this time in a man from Ohio last month. The doctors were able to save the man's foot after his spring break in Pinellas County.
Barry Briggs probably contracted the bacteria while he and his son were in the water off Weedon Island on March 23rd. That night, Briggs' foot began to swell.
Less than 48 hours later, after returning home, Briggs was in the hospital and underwent emergency surgery. He will never forget what the surgeon told him before going under the knife.
"I really hope I will not have to get on you." So that's when everything came together and brought me home, "said Briggs." Even though my wife has started telling me some of the things that can go wrong, it's at that moment that it really has etched me in the head. "
The doctors saved his foot and potentially his life.
"Everything I think has gone well, I'm very lucky to have all these things in place," he said.
This is the second case of flesh – eating bacteria in the Bay Area in less than a month. Shortly after Briggs contracted his infection, Mike Walton had one in his hand after being cut off with a hook.
Both cases occurred off the coast of Pinellas County.
"They said that in a few hours my arm would be in my chest and I would not be there," Walton told FOX 13.
Dr. Jeremy Kirtz, a doctor from the Dominican Republic with AdventHealth in Tampa, said that these cases are rare but that even the smallest open sore can become a serious problem if it is infected.
"Any skin tear can cause anything, even something like the athlete's foot, chronic wounds to the skin because that's the skin that protects you from the outside world," Kirtz said. "It can be deadly, absolutely.You must go to the hospital.You'll need surgery to save that limb and, if it spreads, to save your life. "
Kirtz said people with diabetes are at greater risk of getting a flesh-eating bacterial infection. He also said that these cases are rare. He treated about four people over his 13 years as a UK doctor.
These cases are important reminders to ensure that cuts are healed before entering the water, especially during the warmer months. Kirtz said it was important to go quickly to the hospital if an open wound appeared infected and that its condition worsened.
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