By PAMELA WOOD, Annapolis Capital
Published 08/12/10
Health officials are taking the unusual step of reminding Marylanders that they can get sick by swimming at local beaches and eating raw seafood.
The concern is the vibrio bacteria, which is rare but can cause serious complications. The bacteria thrives in hot weather, and health officials are issuing the warning as the Chesapeake Bay region suffers through yet another heat wave.
"We thought it would be helpful to let people know the steps they can take," said Frances B. Phillips, a deputy state health secretary for public health.
So far, 24 cases of vibrio have been reported this year, a pace at which the state is likely to match the annual average of about 30 cases in recent years.
Phillips cautioned that there is "no alarming trend" with vibrio infections, but that it was good idea to repeat warnings about the condition.
Vibrio is a naturally occurring bacteria in coastal waters.
People can get infected two ways: by eating infected raw shellfish or by swimming with open cuts or scrapes.
The consequences can be frightening.
Fred Tutman, the Patuxent Riverkeeper, has been circulating a photograph of a man's infected leg, swollen and reddish-purple.
Tutman has been pressing for weeks to draw attention to vibrio, especially after he saw an increase in cases in the Broomes Island portion of the river.
He was glad to hear that the state was putting out warnings about vibrio.
"We weren't really getting the attention we thought it should get," Tutman said, recalling weeks of fruitless phone calls and e-mail messages to government agencies and media outlets.
Tutman said he didn't want to scare anyone away from ever swimming in the bay or eating oysters. But he thinks it's "prudent" to advise people of the potential risks so they can make informed decisions.
Statewide, about half of all vibrio cases are traced to eating seafood. Infected wounds cause 34 percent of cases; the cause is unknown in about 15 percent of cases.
In Anne Arundel County, there are a handful of reported vibrio cases each year, according to county health officials.
There were six cases in Anne Arundel in 2009, four in 2008, four in 2007, six in 2006 and seven in 2005.
To avoid contracting vibrio, officials offer the following advice:
• Healthy people should only eat raw oysters and shellfish in winter. Oysters should be cooked in warm-weather months.
• People with chronic medical conditions or weakened immune systems should never eat any raw seafood.
• Anyone with cuts or scrapes should not go swimming in natural bodies of water.
• Swimmers who get cuts in the water should clean them well and watch for signs of infection.
