SAN JOSE (California, US), Sept 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A California mother has suffered the loss of all four limbs after contracting a bacterial infection from undercooked Tilapia fish.
Laura Barajas, 40, underwent life-saving amputation surgery on Thursday after a months-long stay in hospital battling the terrible infection.
Barajas, mother to a six-year-old boy, Gael became sick in late July days after eating the fish that she had purchased at a local market in San Jose and made for herself at home, a friend revealed to News 19.
The infection is believed to have emanated from the Tilapia fish.
The infection is believed to have been caused by vibrio vulnificus, a bacterial infection the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a warning about.
‘The ways you can get infected with this bacteria are one-you can eat something that’s contaminated with it the other way is by having a cut or tattoo exposed to water in which this bug lives,’ UCSF Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Natasha Spottiswoode exaplined.
About 150-200 cases of the infections are reported each year and around one in five people with the infection die, the CDC said.
The bacteria is especially concerning for people who are immunocompromised, according to Spottiswoode.
‘People should take sensible precautions like if you have a cut avoid getting immersed in water until it’s well healed,’ Spottiswoode said.
A friend Anna Messina has set up a GoFundMe page to help her friend cover her medical costs and ongoing care needs. ‘ The fund has raised more than $26,000 so far. — NNN-AGENCIES
