[sunrico90]

Be careful....
It's the time of year when people flock to the beach and it seems like everyone has a healthy respect -- if not, a fear -- of sharks.

But there's another danger lurking in Florida waters. Each year it kills more people in Gulf Coast states than sharks do around the world. It's a bacterium called Vibrio vulnificus.

Vibrio vulnificus occurs naturally in warm salt water around the world. The bacteria can contaminate raw oysters and make you sick. It can also enter your system through a very small cut or scrape.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and local doctors, Vibrio can make healthy people sick, but those most at risk have some type of underlying health condition like liver disease, cancer or AIDS. And those are the people who should avoid raw oysters and use caution around salt water.

[tallrick]

That's what lurks in warm water. Not all paradise is it?

[compelled to reply]

And they are worried about pee in the water! Ha!

[Prichard]

There's bacteria and viruses everywhere, airborne and in water. It's something new every year. I remember the Amoebas that ate your brain if you went swimming in lakes. Well, you ain't gonna live forever and something going to kill you. For the most part, it is not healthy people that contract these strange diseases from swimming in lakes and salt water. Sure, it can happen, but millions of people swim where Amoebas, Vibrio vulnificus, or other organisms are present and never even get the sniffles.

I used to take samples of water from various lakes and analyze them under a microscope in my teens. I was fascinated by all of the ugly little monsters that lived in lake water. I saw pleanty of perimecium and an occasional amoeba and many other things I didn't recognzie in lakes that I used to swim in. Some of these lakes were so thick with muck on the bottom, that I'd sink waist deep in nothing but squishy muck, and an occasional methane gas bubble.

Yep, that's what's at the bottom of most lakes. And people pay gobbs of money to live on these things!!

When I was a kid I swam and skiied in lakes all over Florida, surfed in the atlantic and played in the Gulf - even during a red tied. All of these things have been around for billions of years. Unless you have an immune deficiencey, or diabetes, or some other condition that causes slow healing, Vibrio Vulnificus isn't going to eat your flesh.

[florida1]

I'm confused. The article says it plagues Gulf Coast states. Yet, the guy in the article contracted it while vacationing on the east coast (the article I'm referring to was on news-press.com). Is it everywhere?

[Dave_n_Tenn]

Some simple precautions can help:

Eating Oysters/shelfish;
drink 80 proof alcohol or stronger... it kills the critters. Beer or wine does not work.

Swimming in lakes and Oceans;
use a cue-tip with alcohol (not the drinking type) and swab your ears and any open cuts after exiting the water. Ear infections are common when swimming in warm/hot fresh water lakes and ponds, this will prevent them.

Avoid the pretty "red" rocks in the ocean... it's fire coral.

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by Prichard

There's bacteria and viruses everywhere, airborne and in water. It's something new every year. I remember the Amoebas that ate your brain if you went swimming in lakes. Well, you ain't gonna live forever and something going to kill you. For the most part, it is not healthy people that contract these strange diseases from swimming in lakes and salt water. Sure, it can happen, but millions of people swim where Amoebas, Vibrio vulnificus, or other organisms are present and never even get the sniffles.

I used to take samples of water from various lakes and analyze them under a microscope in my teens. I was fascinated by all of the ugly little monsters that lived in lake water. I saw pleanty of perimecium and an occasional amoeba and many other things I didn't recognzie in lakes that I used to swim in. Some of these lakes were so thick with muck on the bottom, that I'd sink waist deep in nothing but squishy muck, and an occasional methane gas bubble.

Yep, that's what's at the bottom of most lakes. And people pay gobbs of money to live on these things!!

When I was a kid I swam and skiied in lakes all over Florida, surfed in the atlantic and played in the Gulf - even during a red tied. All of these things have been around for billions of years. Unless you have an immune deficiencey, or diabetes, or some other condition that causes slow healing, Vibrio Vulnificus isn't going to eat your flesh.

Excellent post....

[sunrico90]

Sewage not only harms fish, but humans as well. The release of raw sewage or poorly treatedFloating lavatory sewage can transmit waterborne diseases, such as typhoid, cholera, gastroenteritis, bacillary dysentery, and hepatitis through microorganisms from the human digestion system. People may also contract diseases by eating shellfish like scallops or oysters. Shellfish are filter feeders that ingest tiny food particles from the water through their gills, which goes directly to their stomachs. If sewage is present in the water, then the shellfish also ingest it. People then ingest the shellfish and can be tainted with fecal contaminants and disease.

Always take a good look at oysters http://www.funfresh.com/oysters2.jpg (broken link)

Your odds get worse, much worse, if you eat raw oysters or clams and
you suffer from liver disease, or diabetes, or certain gastric disorders, or
inflammatory bowel disease, or cancer, or an abnormal iron metabolism,
or any illness compromising your immune system (including AIDS), or
if you have a history of steroid use (for asthma or arthritis), or if you are
an alcoholic. Any of these conditions place you at a high risk for infection,
and a bad oyster or clam can kill you within two days. Forty percent of
Vibrio vulnificus infections from raw oyster consumption are fatal.

[Songbird42]

I just lost my appetite for shrimp and scallops. And I don't swim in the gulf/ocean because I can't see what's in the bottom, yuck

[hello47]

Thanks so much for letting us know...Thats so scary, I had no idea about the oysters either..