In the United States, a 40-year-old woman almost died because of a fish she had prepared that was undercooked.
Last July, Laura Barajas suddenly fell ill, a few days after eating tilapia, a fish she bought at a California market and cooked herself. The infection quickly spread through her body and doctors had to place her in an induced coma.
The various analyzes showed that it had been infected with Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, likely present in undercooked fish. To save their patient’s life, the doctors ultimately had no choice but to amputate her four limbs, to stop the sepsis.
Where is the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria found?
THE Vibrio are bacteria that cause approximately 80,000 infections each year in the United States. “Approximately 150 to 200 infections Vibrio vulnificus are reported each year and approximately one in five people with this infection die from it” emphasize the American Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The main mode of contamination is infection of a wound (when you have a cut and you bathe in brackish or slightly salty water, for example). But in 10% of cases, the infection is due to the ingestion of seafood or fish carrying the bacteria and not cooked enough.
A risk that also exists in France
In the United States, the number of infections has spread as sea surface temperatures have risen due to successive heat waves. First present in the Gulf of Mexico, it is now also established on the East Coast of the United States.
In France, the risk also exists due to global warming. “The temperatures of Atlantic coastal waters are rising. At this time, the risk of multiplying the number of vibrios becomes evident. Consequently, the risk of contact with humans increases,” explains Patrick Monfort, Director of Research at the CNRS, in Le Parisien.
How to protect yourself from it?
- Cook raw shellfish before eating them and cook your fish well: its flesh should be completely opaque and no longer translucent.
- Always wash your hands with soap and water after handling raw shellfish.
- Seek immediate medical attention if there is a sudden onset of very high or low temperature, increased heart rate or respiratory rate, or decreased blood pressure.
