HighCap56
08-14-2004, 05:35 PM
Any of you venturing to warmer, particularly Texas gulf and vicinity, might want to watch those scrapes and cuts.
From the Houston Cronicle - Abridged, see full story at this URL
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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/health/2735560
A Houston dentist with a passion for Gulf Coast preservation has lost his monthlong battle with a flesh-eating bacteria that invaded a cut on his leg while he was fishing near Port O'Connor, officials said Friday.
Dr. Kenneth Dean Creamer, 52, who practiced dentistry in northwest Houston, died late Thursday in a Victoria hospital where he had been treated since July 17, two days after he was exposed to the saltwater bacteria vibrio vulnificus.
His is the seventh vibrio-related death in Texas this year, officials said. At least a dozen Texans have been injured by the choleralike bacteria as well, according to the Texas Department of Health.
Another man on Creamer's fishing-contest outing was infected by a different strain of the bacteria. He was released from the Victoria hospital on Monday after more than three weeks of treatment, including several surgeries to remove tainted flesh. Officials attributed his survival to swift medical treatment after exposure.
Creamer apparently got a minor cut on his leg July 15 when he slipped on a dock. The following day, the leg grew swollen and he sought treatment in Port Lavaca. By the second day he was critically ill, a spokesman at Citizens Medical Center in Victoria said.
"By the time he got here, vibrio had already infiltrated his blood system and he was in shock, which itself can be deadly," CMC spokesman Melissa Purl said. Within days, both legs were amputated and he sank into a coma, she said."
"Others have been stricken
Creamer was one of several Houston-area residents stricken by the bacteria in Gulf waters this summer. A Bay City man who went fishing in the Laguna Madre and a Dayton man who vacationed in Freeport were successfully treated in late July for exposure to the vibrio bacteria.
Health experts said the bacteria is common in the Gulf and most prevalent in coastal and bay waters in warmer months. The bacteria can be ingested in contaminated seafood, such as oysters, or absorbed through skin wounds, but doesn't penetrate healthy skin.
The Centers for Disease Control, which has recorded vibrio-related illnesses and deaths since 1988, said cases are rare but underreported. A typical year brings 16 deaths along the Gulf Coast states, the CDC said.
The Texas Department of Health reported Friday that so far this year, there have been 31 illnesses caused by vibrio, including the seven deaths, four of which were attributed to eating contaminated oysters.
Experts say those who enter coastal waters should make note of skin cuts and check them later for redness or swelling. If caught quickly, illness caused by the bacteria is controllable with antibiotics.
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Sign at Port Aransas: Warning - Flesh Eating Bacteria - Fisherman at Risk In These Waters
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Makes me want to wear a kevlar body suit! :eek:
I have never heard of this funk before.
Bob
From the Houston Cronicle - Abridged, see full story at this URL
---------------------------
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/health/2735560
A Houston dentist with a passion for Gulf Coast preservation has lost his monthlong battle with a flesh-eating bacteria that invaded a cut on his leg while he was fishing near Port O'Connor, officials said Friday.
Dr. Kenneth Dean Creamer, 52, who practiced dentistry in northwest Houston, died late Thursday in a Victoria hospital where he had been treated since July 17, two days after he was exposed to the saltwater bacteria vibrio vulnificus.
His is the seventh vibrio-related death in Texas this year, officials said. At least a dozen Texans have been injured by the choleralike bacteria as well, according to the Texas Department of Health.
Another man on Creamer's fishing-contest outing was infected by a different strain of the bacteria. He was released from the Victoria hospital on Monday after more than three weeks of treatment, including several surgeries to remove tainted flesh. Officials attributed his survival to swift medical treatment after exposure.
Creamer apparently got a minor cut on his leg July 15 when he slipped on a dock. The following day, the leg grew swollen and he sought treatment in Port Lavaca. By the second day he was critically ill, a spokesman at Citizens Medical Center in Victoria said.
"By the time he got here, vibrio had already infiltrated his blood system and he was in shock, which itself can be deadly," CMC spokesman Melissa Purl said. Within days, both legs were amputated and he sank into a coma, she said."
"Others have been stricken
Creamer was one of several Houston-area residents stricken by the bacteria in Gulf waters this summer. A Bay City man who went fishing in the Laguna Madre and a Dayton man who vacationed in Freeport were successfully treated in late July for exposure to the vibrio bacteria.
Health experts said the bacteria is common in the Gulf and most prevalent in coastal and bay waters in warmer months. The bacteria can be ingested in contaminated seafood, such as oysters, or absorbed through skin wounds, but doesn't penetrate healthy skin.
The Centers for Disease Control, which has recorded vibrio-related illnesses and deaths since 1988, said cases are rare but underreported. A typical year brings 16 deaths along the Gulf Coast states, the CDC said.
The Texas Department of Health reported Friday that so far this year, there have been 31 illnesses caused by vibrio, including the seven deaths, four of which were attributed to eating contaminated oysters.
Experts say those who enter coastal waters should make note of skin cuts and check them later for redness or swelling. If caught quickly, illness caused by the bacteria is controllable with antibiotics.
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Sign at Port Aransas: Warning - Flesh Eating Bacteria - Fisherman at Risk In These Waters
----------------------------------------------
Makes me want to wear a kevlar body suit! :eek:
I have never heard of this funk before.
Bob