Fitness fanatic contracts flesh-eating bacteria after stepping on shells while walking on a South Carolina beach
A South Carolina man became infected with a flesh-eating bacteria after walking on seashells. Scientists warn that more and more similar cases could be linked to climate change.
Brent Norman strolled along the shores of Sullivan’s Island and the Isle of Palms near Charleston, South Carolina. in his attempt to walk 15,000 to 20,000 steps every day when he stepped on some grenades in late April.
Days later, the health-conscious man was in excruciating pain and said his foot was swollen and he could no longer walk.
He went to the emergency room, where a doctor told him he had contracted Vibrio, a deadly flesh-eating bacteria that lurks in seawater and estuaries.
“It might be like someone drove a – I don’t know, a nail through my foot,” Norman told WCIV.
Brent Norman (pictured) became infected with a flesh-eating bacteria after stepping on seashells while walking along a beach in South Carolina
Days later, the health-conscious man was in excruciating pain and said his foot (pictured) was swollen and he could no longer walk.
The flesh around his heel looked blistered, red and swollen, prompting him to go to the doctor, who told him he had contracted Vibrio, a deadly flesh-eating bacteria.
The flesh around his heel looked blistered, red and swollen, prompting him to go to the doctor.
‘Everyone behind the check-in desk had their eyes about twice as big as normal. I noticed people were uncomfortable looking around me,” Norman said.
“She poked it and removed the debris from there. And then I was given a course of antibiotics and then also pills that I took for two weeks.’
Vibrio vulnificus, which multiplies in warm temperatures, is infecting twice as many East Coasters compared to 2022, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.
Scientists say the increase in prevalence is due to gradually rising water temperatures near the US.
The gruesome insect enters the body through cuts and abrasions in the skin and begins eating human flesh within 24 hours. Without treatment, the disease can cause necrosis (tissue death) and fatal blood poisoning.
Estimates suggest that about one in three infections is fatal.
Experts warned in the CDC report that “Vibrio vulnificus infections are expected to become more common” due to “rising coastal water temperatures.”
Norman was strolling along the shores of Sullivan’s Island (pictured) and the Isle of Palms near Charleston, South Carolina, in his attempt to walk 15,000 to 20,000 steps every day when he stepped on a pair of grenades in late April.
Norman said once his infection clears, he plans to get back to his routine of walking on the beach.
“I grew up on the beach my whole life and I’ve stepped on probably over 10,000 shells,” Norman said.
‘My reward is living on the beach and I want to continue doing that. Go as soon as my foot is healed. I’m back on the beach.’
Millions of Americans were warned to be careful at the beach over Labor Day weekend last year due to the risk of contamination with the Vibrio bacteria.
Experts told DailyMail.com that anyone with an open wound should avoid swimming in waters where Vibrio had been identified.
Dr. Luis Ostrosky – an infectious disease expert at UTHealth Houston in Texas – said this was a “very, very aggressive bacteria.”
He told DailyMail.com: ‘If you have cuts, don’t go into the water.
‘You have to be very aware of cuts and not go into sea water if you have it.
“If you have a weakened immune system, have diabetes or have cirrhosis of the liver, it’s really not a good idea to go swimming (in the ocean) at this time.”