Lee County Health Officials: Stay away from water and be cautious on the beach

Four months after Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida, state health officials are again warning beachgoers to stay away from the ocean, but this time the warning also mentions sand.

The Florida Department of Health’s unprecedented health advisory in Lee County said flooding brought on by Hurricane Ian would cause years of pollution on land, and boats filled with gas and oil would sink in bays and beaches. , announced after continued investigation into being left behind. Debris of metal, glass and other dangerous debris along the coastline.

It’s worth noting that the Department of Health has largely abandoned the softer language usually found in water quality recommendations. Beach recommendations usually have some kind of understatement so as not to frighten tourists.

“Swimming is not recommended. It should be assumed that contact with water may increase the risk of sickness and disease,” wrote Florida Health Officials in Lee County.

Ian rained over a foot on land, and storm surges of up to 14 feet were pushed onto land. Rainwater filled with debris of human life. Nitrogen-rich fertilizers, human waste from imperfect purification systems, animal feces, microplastics and other chemicals from face masks and cigarette butts on the ground, oil and rubber from roads, soot and dirt. From buildings, billboards, and more, for hours when a slow-moving storm hits southwestern Florida.

As the hurricane moved inland, all the water backed up into the Gulf of Mexico, washing away roads, parking lots, backyards and beaches.

“Flesh-eating bacteria”

The most deadly disease on the rise since Hurricane Ian is an infection with the bacterium Vibrio vulnificus, which can lead to necrotizing fasciitis, a severe infection in which the flesh around an open wound dies.

Commonly known as “cannibalism”.

The good news is that it’s extremely rare. The bad news is everything else about it.

Vibrio is endemic in background concentrations in temperate waters such as the Gulf of Mexico, especially in brackish waters where freshwater streams and estuaries meet the sea. There were no cases of cannibalism in Lee County in 2020. Last year there were at least 28.

Vibrio most often enters a person’s bloodstream by eating raw or undercooked crustaceans, but it can also enter the body through the slightest abrasion or shaving.

Death from necrotizing fasciitis is very painful at first. and fast. A person with pre-existing conditions such as old age, cirrhosis, hypertension, from the moment of infection he can die within 72 hours.

About 20 percent die. Many people who survive will be severely scarred or lose limbs.

At first, small red spots appear and begin to swell painfully, far from being small lesions. Within a few hours, damage begins as the small red spots grow much larger and skin, muscle, and connective tissue begin to die off.

Infected tissue darkens from red to purple to blue to black. When gangrene begins, the remaining skin nerves are destroyed, so the severe pain disappears, but fever and fatigue persist, and blisters form on the skin.

Untreated, it can lead to sepsis, organ failure, and death.

Victims who seek treatment fast enough to survive often have lost so much muscle, tendons and fat that they require intensive care and limb amputation.

Survivors often appear to have third-degree burns in the affected area because all tissue had to be excised or was lost to infection.

Approximately 80% of infections occur between May and October when water temperatures are warm.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports approximately 80,000 Vibrio infections and 100 deaths in the country each year. Florida Health Department records show 74 people contracted Vibrio and 14 died. Both agencies admit that the numbers are wrong, possibly underestimated, due to misdiagnosis and the rate at which the disease progresses.

Pollution washed into the water by Hurricane Ian may be contributing to more cases. Two years ago he had 5 infections and he had 1 death, and last year he had 28 infections and he had 8 deaths.

In Collier County, health officials recorded no infections in 2021, three infections last year, and no deaths. But in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a man who was helping his friend recover from Hurricane Ian in Naples contracted flesh-eating bacteria near his friend’s house a month after the storm. and died.

A man, James Hewitt, injured his leg after falling into a canal while helping a friend on Oct. 8, as reported by the FOX television station. reported.

Hewitt died on October 11th.

Keep fit

The Florida Department of Health recommends the following precautions to prevent flesh-eating bacteria:

• Observe basic hygiene. Always wash your hands with soap and water before eating and after using the toilet.

• If you have a cut or sore that has been exposed to sea or brackish water, keep it as clean as possible by washing with soap and disinfecting or with boiled, chilled or commercially available bottled water.

• Apply antibiotic cream to reduce the risk of infection.

• Wash your hands with soap and water after participating in clean-up activities and after handling items contaminated with sewage.

• Seek immediate medical attention if a wound or sore develops redness, swelling, or drainage.

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