USA: Elderly Woman Fights Flesh-Eating Bacteria

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (United Press International), July 19, 2006: An 86-year-old Florida woman is fighting for her life against flesh-eating bacteria. The Jacksonville Times-Union said Ethel Morris' leg became discolored within hours of getting soaked from the brackish water of Doctor's Lake. Her leg had to removed several days later. Morris was in guarded condition and breathing with the help of a ventilator at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Jacksonville. The Middleburg woman was infected with vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium found in oysters and other shellfish in warm coastal waters during the summer months, the newspaper said. The bacterium most likely entered an open wound that Morris suffered during a minor fall days earlier, said pathologist Brett Cantrell. Vibrio vulnificus typically causes severe and life-threatening illness characterized by fever and chills, decreased blood pressure and blisters. There have been 12 cases reported in Florida this year, with one fatal case reported in Duval County. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated 1,900 people each year have wound infections caused by vibrio vulnificus.