Doctors had to amputate all four limbs of a 40-year-old woman from California due to complications after contracting a deadly bacteria. An American woman became seriously ill after eating fish she bought at a local market.
40 years old Laura Barajas last week, after a month in the hospital, she underwent an operation that saved her life. In order to survive, doctors had to amputate all her limbs. “It’s been very difficult for all of us. It’s terrible. It could have happened to any of us,” a friend of Barajas said to KRON television Anna Messina.
“She almost lost her life. She was on a ventilator,” she added. The 40-year-old woman, who was in an artificial coma, later fell ill with sepsis during treatment. “Her toes were black, her feet too,” said Messinova. The complication necessitated amputation.
As she explained, Barajasova, who is the mother of a six-year-old boy, fell ill a few days after eating tilapia fish. She bought the latter at a local market in San Jose and prepared it at home. At the hospital, it was discovered that she had contracted the deadly bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, which is commonly found in raw seafood, Insider reported.
On September 1, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of an increase in infections with the aforementioned bacteria in the US. Vibrio vulnificus thrives in the warmer waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and the center detects between 150 and 200 infections annually. About one in five infected people die. In Galveston, Texas, a man recently died after eating oysters that contained the bacteria on August 29.
According to the center, symptoms of infection include watery diarrhea, cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever. The most common cause of infection is eating raw or undercooked seafood. The CDC also advises avoiding salt water in case of open wounds.
Messinova is raising money on the GoFundMe platform to pay for her friend’s medical expenses. By Sunday, they had collected more than 39,000 dollars (around 36,000 euros).
