SAN JOSE โ Well being officers on Wednesday contradicted claims {that a} San Jose lady contracted a flesh-eating virus from consuming a fish purchased at an area market, leading to amputations of all 4 of her limbs.
A GoFundMe fundraiser that garnered worldwide consideration stated 40-year-old Laura Barajas was pressured to bear a quadruple amputation process final week after contracting Vibrio, a bacterial an infection, after consuming the undercooked fish. The fundraiser has gone viral since posting Friday, garnering headlines in Individuals Journal, Day by day Mail, USA At the moment and Web page Six. As of Wednesday night, the fundraiser had raised greater than $110,000.
In a press release, county well being officers stated that they had been ready determine a hospitalized affected person matching the outline in media reviews Tuesday, and requested the hospital workers to inform the division if there was suspicion of any illness they’re legally required to report.
โPreliminary data has now been acquired relating to this particular person, confirming that no laboratory exams are optimistic for Vibrio. A number of totally different ailments together with however not restricted to Vibrio could cause tragic medical outcomes like this one,โ the company stated. โPublic Well being is actively investigating to substantiate if a reason for this sickness could be recognized.โ
Officers with the county, in addition to the state Division of Public Well being, each confirmed that no instances of Vibrio vulnificus infections have been reported to their companies. In Santa Clara County, all Vibrio infections are required to be reported by medical suppliers inside one enterprise day of analysis.
The division stated that as of Wednesday, there was no indication of a wider threat to public well being.
The precise reason for Barajasโ sickness โ and reported amputation of all 4 of her limbs โ stays unclear. The county well being division stated Wednesday that it had not recognized any broader threat to public security.
In a textual content message to this information group, the organizer of the web page, Anna Messina, stated she based mostly the outline on an โpreliminary analysisโ of Barajas situation that was relayed to her, however added she had not acquired any updates from the household.
Makes an attempt to succeed in the Barajasโ kinfolk Wednesday had been unsuccessful.
Incidents of Vibrio vulnificus infections are on the rise. On Sept. 1, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention issued a warning to healthcare professionals in regards to the uptick earlier this month, attributing it pattern partly to rising temperatures in ocean waters. The micro organism thrives in hotter waters, totally on the coasts of the Gulf Coast states in response to the CDC, primarily between the months of Might and October.
The micro organism is primarily transmitted when an open wound with the water the place the micro organism lives, although in about 10 p.c of instances its contracted via consumption.
Dr. Stanley Deresinski, a medical professor of medication specializing in infectious ailments at Stanford Well being Care, stated prevalence of the micro organism ought to solely enhance as local weather change persists.
โThe numbers of instances has been rising and local weather change is probably going enjoying a task,โ he stated.
Shellfish is the commonest strategy to contract the micro organism via consumption, however it has proven to unfold in fish via aqua-farms, in response to Deresinski. With fish packed in a decent, contained physique of water for the aim of farming for consumption, waterborne micro organism can unfold quickly.
โTheyโre all uncovered to the identical water, to an extent,โ he stated. โThere can be a number of such fish contaminated.โ
Amputation is critical in significantly aggressive instances.
โIf you ingest the vibrio vulnificus it may quickly invade the physique and trigger systemic sickness to the affected person,โ Deresinski stated. โBecause the organism spreads via the physique they could have issues together with ones resulting in shedding your limbs.โ
As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe for Barajas remained energetic, and the outline of her situation was unchanged.
โThis household is in determined want of our assist. Whereas Jose has well being advantages via his work, it stays unsure whether or not they are going to cowl Laura, his companion of eight years,โ the submit reads. โThe mounting hospital payments are overwhelming, and Lauraโs bodily situation will necessitate vital adjustments to their lives as they adapt to her new circumstances.โ
GoFundMe didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.