Bacteria Wars

A Sunday Tribune report by Lyse Comins said that Dr Peter Breedt of Hillcrest almost lost his leg after a small cut became infected by the vibrio vulnificus bacterium. A photograph in the report shows a horrific hole in his foot after the bacterium, which occurs naturally in the ocean, had eaten away his tissue.

The incident occurred in November after a return paddle-ski trip from Ushaka to the Bluff. According to the report, his wound has still not healed. The bacteria is known to kill up to 50% of its victims.

With summer heat and humidity at its worst in Durban, a rash of cases involving sickness and infection from swimming and surfing have been reported

With summer heat and humidity at its worst in Durban, a rash of cases involving sickness and infection from swimming and surfing have been reported, though the vibrio vulnificus case is isolated.

However, several surfers say they have had ear infections, or have felt sick after coming out of the water. A comment on the online version of the Sunday Tribune story by 'Dane' said, "I went surfing on Saturday and by Sunday morning I felt weak but still keen to get some more waves and surfed again. About an hour and a half into the surf I needed to vomit and by the time I got home I had diarrhea. I was sick until Wednesday (last week)."

The vibrio vulnificus bacterium, according to scientists, flourishes in shallow coastal environments when salinity and warm temperature are mixed, often in the vicinity of estuaries or river mouths. Ideally, it needs water temperatures of more than 20 degrees C. However, according to the American Academy of Physicians, the organism is not associated with pollution or fecal waste, though many Durban surfers may beg to differ, though the many other lurgies in the water could be from a number of other bacteria including e-coli.

Dr Breedt told the Tribune there was a "sulphur kind of smell” in the water, but there is no link between the water quality and the presence of this bacterium.

“I have spoken to surgeons who say they see it quite often and that you can get it from swimming in river mouths,” the report quoted Breedt as saying. He started to feel sick as a black area developed on his foot six hours after his trip. "I took lots of antibiotics and had three operations to cut away the dead skin and I had skin grafts,” Breedt said. “It’s hard to believe that from being healthy one minute I could get so sick.”

The report quotes a warning by a leading water-quality expert, microbiologist Professor Eugene Cloete, to avoid acquiring the vibrio vulnificus bacterium by not swimming in the sea "if one has cuts, wounds or chronic liver disease" .

Professor Cloete, dean of Stellenbosch University’s Science Department, said the bacterium was "one of the most dangerous pathogens that occur in the ocean – it grows where salt concentrations are high and temperatures warm".

He said the vibrio genos had also been found in shellfish (such as undercooked oysters), but if the bacteria got into an open wound it caused "septicaemia and shock and if it gets into the bloodstream you will get very sick”. The mortality rate was up to 50 percent if the bacteria entered the bloodstream. Treatment within 48 hours was vital.

In the only other reported case of vibrio vulnificus infection in Durban, fisherman Eric Erasmus died in 2002 after collecting sand prawn in the harbour.

In the only other reported case of vibrio vulnificus infection in Durban, fisherman Eric Erasmus died in 2002 after collecting sand prawn in the harbour.

The report quoted Frank Stevens, the deputy head of water and sanitation (technical support) at eThekweni Municipality, as saying water was tested five times a month at 33 beaches, including Wedge, North Beach and uShaka, and that the budget for monitoring was R3 million a year. He said the bacterium was found globally, and was not part of normal beach water testing around the world.

“The public should avoid swimming in close proximity to river mouths and stormwater outlets within 24 hours of a storm event. Heavy storms, such as were experienced in December, are likely to impact beach water quality until such time as the river returns to its normal flow,” Stevens said.

The Sunday Tribune reported that three surfers out of a group of five had become violently ill with gastroenteritis after spending time in the sea at the Wedge last week.

There were Lee van Vuuren, who said the water was murky but they had not thought much of it until they woke up the next day vomiting. Craig Knott told the Tribune: “We surf quite a bit in and around the piers and the water quality has not been great for quite some time but supposedly it’s just the storm water drains running but it’s almost like sewage in some cases – and smells.”

Dean Seppings said he had "contracted an ear infection and a post-nasal drip", while Evan Basson said he had also become ill and Trisha Sandeman said that the following day, after accidentally swallowing some sea water, had felt "like I was coming down with a cold and my throat was inflamed".

"The city is not called Dirtbin for nothing," said another comment on the story (read it here).