Bacterial infection vacationer dies to the Baltic Sea

Vibrion infection: Death after bath in the Baltic Sea

01/09/2014

As has now been announced, a tourist who had bathed in the Baltic Sea died of a Vibrion infection. These bacteria can penetrate into the smallest wounds and lead to death within a short time. Especially people with chronic diseases and open wounds should be careful.

Six diseases were reported
A tourist who had bathed in the Baltic Sea died of a Vibrion infection. Anja Neutzling from the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Office for Health and Social Affairs in Rostock reported that this had already happened at the end of July / beginning of August. The „Ostsee-Zeitung“ had previously reported on the case. According to the information, six diseases have been reported in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The last known deaths from vibrios had occurred in 2010. At that time, two people died.

Relatives of a patient call for better education
The report of the „Ostsee-Zeitung“ According to "a 73-year-old from Baden-Württemberg was also three weeks in a coma and could lose a leg." The patient's relatives demanded a better explanation in the newspaper about the danger of the life-threatening germs. At sustained water temperatures over 20 degrees Celsisus, the rod-shaped bacteria of the species Vibrio vulnificus proliferate. They occur "not only in coastal areas, but also in brackish water ponds or estuaries".

Bacteria enter the body through wounds
By eating seafood, such as oysters and shrimp, or skin injuries, the bacteria can invade the body and cause infections in humans. The symptoms that may be present include diarrhea, abdominal pain, dermatitis, nausea and vomiting. Especially in people with a weakened immune system, such as chronic pre-existing diseases, the elderly and people with open wounds can lead to serious wound infections and sepsis (blood poisoning). In the worst case, death threatens.

Baltic Sea can get very warm in shallow areas
Virbrionen occur in different regions of the world, including in large parts of the Baltic Sea. Nevertheless, diseases caused by these bacteria are still very rare in Germany. According to experts, the pathogen could spread due to the strong warming - also due to climate change - and the low salinity on the German Baltic Sea coast. Only in 1994 individual cases were known in Germany on the Baltic Sea. The sea can get warm in shallow areas due to high summer temperatures over 20 degrees. As Neutzling pointed out, her office had already advised doctors at the beginning of the summer about possible wound infections caused by vibrio. "Even the low salinity promotes the bacteria, but for healthy people, the risk remains manageable." (Ad)