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Flesh-Eating Bacteria From Harveys Floodwaters Kill a Woman
By MAGGIE ASTOR
SEPT. 28, 2017
From the moment the waters began rising in Texas last month, disease was on health officials’ minds. Floodwaters, after all, are filthy.
When Hurricane Harvey finally moved north and the feet of flooding drained, hospitals saw a spike in skin and gastrointestinal infections, but Texans were spared some of the most serious illnesses that contaminated water can spread: cholera, for instance, and typhoid.
On Tuesday, however, the Harris County medical examiner’s office announced that the death of a 77-year-old woman 11 days earlier had been caused by necrotizing fasciitis: a gruesome and often deadly infection commonly known as flesh-eating bacteria.
The woman, Nancy Reed, contracted the disease when she fell inside a flooded home in Houston’s Kingwood community and broke her arm, allowing bacteria from the floodwaters in through cuts. Hers was the 36th storm death recorded in Harris County.
More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/health/necrotizing-fasciitis-houston-texas.html/
2 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
People should be warned that floodwaters are always dangerous. This is not like strolling at the beach, and the floodwaters shouldn't be assumed to be clean or safe. If anything it's a combination of sewage, swamp and river water, combined with salt water if you're near the ocean. Disease could be lurking in these waters, as well as things that sting or bite like leeches, snakes, and other nasty creatures.
Ideally one should wear high boots or waders when walking through flooded areas. Once you're out the water be sure to clean your skin with anti-bacterial detergent wherever the water came in contact. It just makes sense.
