Man battling flesh-eating bacteria after trip to Texas beach
A man is battling a flesh-eating disease that he picked up after a day at the beach in Texas.
Adrian Ruiz was enjoying a Father's Day getaway at Port Aransas, on the Gulf of Mexico, when he picked up the "very aggressive" bacteria called vibrio.
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Mr Ruiz first developed a headache and a rash on his leg before his symptoms worsened and he was diagnosed with vibrio vulnificus infection.
According to CBS News, it can lead to an illness in humans called vibriosis. It's a flesh-eating bacteria that humans can become infected with by eating uncooked shellfish or, as in Ruiz's case, swimming in contaminated waters with an open wound.
Doctors feared Ruiz may lose his leg, but his condition now seems to have stabilised.
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The news comes just two weeks after another man, Brian Parrott, 50, picked up a similar infection at another Texas beach - and had to have part of his right leg amputated.
A few days after a trip to the beach with his family, Parrott, of Jacinto City, Texas, noticed that his leg had broken out in a rash with boils, and the infection became so bad amputation was required.
According to the Medical Daily, a flesh-eating bacteria like vibrio gets its name due to the flesh-destroying neurotoxin they release in the body. The toxin kills any cells it comes into contact with, and can destroy entire limbs and appendages.
These infections are usually treated with strong antibiotics first in a bid to avoid amputations, which are a last resort.
The site explains that cases of necrotising fasciitis are usually only extremely dangerous in individuals with weakened immune systems, and fatal outcomes are rare; of the 80,000 vibrio infections each year in the US, there are only about 100 deaths.
Talking about Ruiz's case, a doctor said that his recovery has been "very good".
The family say they would not have gone in the water if they'd been aware of the bacteria, and will now enjoy 'freshwater' holidays from now on.
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