--- description: Vibrio vulnificus, which is centered in the southeastern U.S., appears to be spreading to the Delaware Bay. Climate change may be to blame. title: Climate Change May Be Spreading Flesh-Eating Bacteria to Unexpected Waters image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4376c74fd3d0d71/69894b394ee262aa76314a5f/crab.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Infectious Disease](/tag/infectious-disease/) ## Infectious Disease Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Climate Change May Be Spreading Flesh-Eating Bacteria to Unexpected Waters ## Video: Global Sea Levels Could Rise by Much More Than Previously Predicted, According to New Study [Watch (HLS stream): Global Sea Levels Could Rise by Much More Than Previously Predicted, According to New Study](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/muDiv99l.m3u8) (1:14)  _Published 2019-05-22. Global sea levels could rise by over 6 feet by 2100––twice as much as had previously been predicted––threatening major cities and potentially flooding hundreds of millions of people, a study published Monday warned._  by [Mandy Oaklander](/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Jun 17, 2019 9:00 PM CUT  A single, cooked Chesapeake Bay crab, covered in spices on Kent Island in Maryland. A single, cooked Chesapeake Bay crab, covered in spices on Kent Island in Maryland.Getty Images  by [Mandy Oaklander](/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Jun 17, 2019 9:00 PM CUT Climate change is warming ocean waters around the globe, which affects what can thrive in various parts of the seas. Now, bacteria that can cause a[ flesh-eating infection](https://time.com/5335471/new-jersey-man-flesh-eating-bacteria/ "undefined") are showing up in waters once too cold to harbor them. A[ new report](http://annals.org/aim/article/doi/10.7326/L19-0133 "undefined") published in the _Annals of Internal Medicine_ links five recent cases of _Vibrio vulnificus_ to the Delaware Bay, bordered by New Jersey and Delaware. These bacteria live in brackish water—a mix of salty and fresh, often where a river meets a sea. Historically, in the U.S., _V. vulnificus_ have mostly been found in the southeastern part of the country. “We were all very surprised and puzzled that there were a significant number of cases of this infection that we hadn’t seen before,” says Dr. Katherine Doktor, co-author of the report and an infectious disease specialist at Cooper University Hospital in New Jersey. In the eight years before 2017, the hospital had only seen one case of the infection, but in 2017 and 2018, it saw five total. People can contract a _V. vulnificus_ infection by eating raw or undercooked seafood—especially shellfish, and particularly[ oysters](https://time.com/5343075/florida-man-oysters-vibrio-vulnificus/ "undefined")—or if they have a cut that comes into contact with water where the bacteria live. _V. vulnificus_ infections are rare, but are still the[ leading cause](https://www.uptodate.com/contents/vibrio-vulnificus-infections "undefined") of shellfish-associated deaths in the U.S. The five cases detailed in the new report all involve men who had some contact with the Delaware Bay. Some had gone crabbing in the Bay, while others had eaten crabs likely caught there. One man handled seafood while working at a restaurant near the Bay. “It usually starts off as a cut that progressively becomes swollen and red and painful,” says Doktor, who treated two of the patients in the report. As it worsens, the area around the infected cut will swell and develop large red blisters, she says. Necrotizing fasciitis, in which bacteria eat away at soft tissue and muscles, can set in. That condition can be deadly if not treated immediately. Although anyone can become infected, people with compromised immune systems or liver disease are the most vulnerable. This was the case for all five of the patients, some of whom had untreated hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Four survived, thanks to antibiotics and surgeries to remove necrotic skin, and one died. Doktor says that people don’t need to avoid all bodies of water in the summer in fear of the bacteria—but they should be aware of the risks and take extra precautions. “If people have risk factors and they do sustain cuts that are not getting better” Doktor says, “they should see a healthcare provider.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)[ estimates](https://www.cdc.gov/vibrio/people-at-risk.html "undefined") that 80,000 people become sick, and 100 people die, from a _Vibrio_ species infection each year in the U.S. _V. vulnificus_ is especially deadly, the CDC notes, killing about one in five people who contract it—usually just within a day or two of falling ill. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5606665/vibrio-vulnificus-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5606665/vibrio-vulnificus-climate-change/"},"headline":"Climate Change May Be Spreading Flesh-Eating Bacteria to Unexpected Waters","datePublished":"2019-06-17T21:00:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:44:43.516Z","description":"The infection can be fatal","url":"https://time.com/5606665/vibrio-vulnificus-climate-change/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","Public Health","embargoed study"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4376c74fd3d0d71/69894b394ee262aa76314a5f/crab.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mandy Oaklander","jobTitle":"Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4376c74fd3d0d71/69894b394ee262aa76314a5f/crab.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"crab","caption":"crab","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5606665/vibrio-vulnificus-climate-change/","name":"Climate Change May Be Spreading Flesh-Eating Bacteria to Unexpected Waters"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Global Sea Levels Could Rise by Much More Than Previously Predicted, According to New Study","description":"Global sea levels could rise by over 6 feet by 2100––twice as much as had previously been predicted––threatening major cities and potentially flooding hundreds of millions of people, a study published Monday warned.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/muDiv99l/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-05-22T00:01:14.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/muDiv99l.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5606665/vibrio-vulnificus-climate-change/","duration":"PT1M14S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5606665/vibrio-vulnificus-climate-change/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```