A Florida father was hospitalized after becoming infected with the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus after fishing with his family.
Ben West, 38, contracted the bacteria while in Port St. Joe, Florida, in late August, according to People Magazine. He began experiencing pain in his foot and ankle before the infection spread.
"There were blisters everywhere. They were busting. It was swelling. You couldn't recognize his leg compared to the other one," Janie Knowles, West's fiancée, told local news station WJHG. "It was actually four times bigger than the other one."
The Cleveland Clinic says Vibrio vulnificus can cause severe and life-threatening infections. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that some Vibrio infections can lead to necrotizing fasciitis, "a severe infection in which the flesh around an open wound dies."
The bacteria can enter the body through open wounds or the consumption of undercooked shellfish. West and his family had been fishing for crab and mullet.
Vibrio vulnificus thrives in warm, low-salinity waters. It has typically been present along the Gulf Coast.
Between 1988 and 2018, Vibrio vulnificus infections were increasingly found in more northern areas of the East Coast, according to a study published in Nature in 2023. This may have been due in part to warmer temperatures creating more hospitable environments for the bacteria.
The continued rise in atmospheric and ocean temperatures has the potential to fuel the spread and migration of this bacterium, as well as vector-borne diseases that experience increased transmission in warmer weather.
Rising global temperatures are being exacerbated by the abundance of heat-trapping gases. As Earth warms, the risk of infections and disease grows. It is critical to reduce this planet-warming pollution and improve public awareness of the full breadth of local climate-related health hazards in order to mitigate these threats.
West's family has used his experience to warn others about the serious potential impacts of Vibrio vulnificus. They urged others to stay out of affected waterways.
While West has a lot of recovery ahead of him, his family is grateful he is alive.
"We still have a series of surgeries ahead of us & doctors say a LONG LONG road of recovery," Knowles wrote as a part of the family's GoFundMe campaign.