By Julia Szabo
A recent wave of sensational press about the “flesh-eating bacteria,” Vibrio vulnificus, has the East End community understandably concerned about the potential safety risks of swimming in local waters and eating raw seafood. A virulent, salt-loving bacterium that lives in warm coastal and brackish waters, Vibrio vulnificus has been known to cause devastating injury: Infection leads to excruciating tissue damage (necrotizing fasciitis), sometimes resulting in amputation and death.
However, it’s important to remember that this scary pathogen has been around for centuries. According to The Medical Journal of Australia, Hippocrates described what is likely the first recorded case, that of a fisherman with foot pain, fever, delirium and blistering skin. So, like two other disease-bearing coastal disturbances, ticks and mosquitoes, Vibrio is a summertime nuisance that’s manageable with common sense.
“To put the risk in perspective, this organism is a natural resident of the entire Eastern Seaboard, being most prevalent in warmer Southern states like Florida and Texas,” says professor Christopher Gobler of Stony Brook University, director of the New York State Center for Clean Water Technology. “For the average New York beachgoer, the chance of dying from a Vibrio vulnificus infection is less than 1 in 10 million. Statistically, a bather is more likely to drown than to succumb to this bacterium.”
Even in 2023—a year marked by extreme marine heatwaves and tropical deluges that created ideal conditions for the bacteria—there were only three fatalities among swimmers in the Long Island Sound in New York and Connecticut, and only one of those deaths occurred on Long Island, says Gobler. “In nearly all cases, Vibrio vulnificus is not a threat to the healthy public,” he adds. “It is an opportunistic pathogen that requires a very specific set of circumstances to cause harm.”
Nearly all severe cases involve people with significant preexisting conditions—particularly compromised immune systems—or those who enter the water with an open, unprotected wound. For the vast majority of people swimming in our bays or enjoying our world-class Long Island shellfish, the water remains a safe and vital resource. “The majority of our waters, including all of our ocean beaches and oyster farms, are among the cleanest in the country, and are an absolute treasure,” Gobler says. “Through continued investment in clean water initiatives, we can ensure they remain healthy and vibrant for all to enjoy.”
Summertime in the Hamptons can and will proceed as it always has—with a few preventive precautions. You can reduce your chance of getting a Vibrio infection by following these tips from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services:
If you have a wound (including from a recent surgery, piercing or tattoo), stay out of saltwater or brackish water if possible. This contact can happen during everyday activities, such as swimming, fishing or walking on the beach.
Wash wounds and cuts thoroughly with soap and water after they have contact with saltwater, brackish water, or raw seafood or its juices.
Individuals who are immunocompromised, e.g., those with chronic liver disease or kidney disease, or those taking immunosuppressant medication, should wear proper foot protection to prevent cuts and injury caused by rocks and shells on the beach.
Finally, extend extra protections to children, including babies in utero prior to birth, whose mothers are universally advised by medical doctors to avoid raw and undercooked seafood during pregnancy.