Norwich: Scientists have warned that a flesh-eating bacteria could infect citizens in every state along the US East Coast within the next 20 years.
According to researchers at the University of East Anglia in the UK, the number of annual cases of Vibrio vulnifax bacteria could double by 2040 due to warming oceans due to climate change.
According to scientists, climate change has made the bacteria more likely to survive in water than ever before, while rising sea levels could push the bacteria further into residential areas.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 80,000 Americans are infected with Vibro each year. This toxic bacteria thrives in warm, salty, and shallow coastal waters. Currently, it is most commonly found along the coast of North Carolina.
Infections of this bacteria are not that common in humans, but the number of cases of infection peaks in summer. People get this infection through contact with sea water on cuts or other wounds on the body. However, this infection can also be caused by eating undercooked fish.
The infection spreads rapidly among humans and can cause serious meat damage, but the infection is not transmitted from one person to another.
Symptoms of this infection include dysentery, nausea, vomiting and fever with chills, skin sores and high blood pressure.
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