Like many Americans Adrian Ruiz and his family (Kyle, Texas) decided to spend Father’s Day weekend at the beach. According to KVUE ABC affiliate Mr. Ruiz is now “being treated for a bacterial infection [vibrio vulnificus] contracted during the trip to Port Aransas…that can develop into necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating…He developed a fever that evening [Sat. June 18th] and awoke Sunday with a red rash on his leg that quickly progressed into…fighting to keep his leg.”

“If we would have known that there was flesh-eating bacteria in the water, we wouldn’t have gotten in. (Lashelle Ruiz, USA Today)”

A week earlier someone contracted the same type of infection in Galveston, TX, resulting in his leg being amputated. Doctors suspect the bacteria entered his leg from a scrape on his foot.

According to the CDC:

“Roughly a dozen Vibrio species are known to cause vibriosis in humans, with the most common in the United States being V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, and V. alginolyticus. The Vibrio species that cause vibriosis naturally live in brackish or salt water. People with vibriosis become infected by consuming raw or undercooked seafood or exposing a wound to seawater. Most infections occur from May through October when water temperatures are warmer….Vibrio causes an estimated 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths in the United states every year.”

One of the Universal Laws/Truths that Taoists observed thousands of years ago states that one of the purposes of life (which includes all life) is to live and propagate. What we now call evolution is a continuation of this study that if something is alive, then it will do everything it can in order to survive. We are seeing this today with bacteria and viruses becoming more and more resilient to antibiotics and antibacterial agents. One could safely say that every time we try to kill viruses and bacteria we are in fact giving them a reason to evolve and become stronger. Consider the fact that if man was to create medicine to kill all bacteria and viruses it would also surely kill us as well, since these types of medicine and approaches do not discriminate between so called good and bad bacteria etc… So any bacteria that survive will by nature of this Universal Law evolve and become stronger.

This could be one reason why there has been an increase over the last few decades of people (and pets) becoming infected with these super bacteria and viruses.

The CDC, created a page on their website with a decent list of Prevention Tips:

• Don’t eat raw or undercooked oysters or other shellfish. Cook them before eating.
• Always wash your hands with soap and water after handing raw shellfish.
• Avoid contaminating cooked shellfish with raw shellfish and its juices.
• Stay out of brackish or salt water if you have a wound (including cuts and scrapes), or cover your wound with a waterproof bandage if there’s a possibility it could come into contact with brackish or salt water, raw seafood, or raw seafood juices.
• Wash wounds and cuts thoroughly with soap and water if they have been exposed to seawater or raw seafood or its juices.
• If you develop a skin infection, tell your medical provider if your skin has come into contact with brackish or salt water, raw seafood, or raw seafood juices.

If you are in a group more likely to get vibriosis :

• Wear clothes and shoes that can protect you from cuts and scrapes when in brackish or salt water.
• Wear protective gloves when handling raw seafood.

As a Taoist we would add a few more suggestions:

1. Stay out of pools, lakes, ponds, oceans etc… unless absolutely necessary. If you are in a boat, canoe, kayak etc… then do everything possible to stay in the boat. Man was not designed for life in the water therefore we are very susceptible to water born illnesses.
2. Assume that any body of water has bacteria that could potentially make one sick or even kill.
3. Be especially vigilant when water temperatures are above 68 degrees F, since this particular bacteria thrives in “warmer” water.
4. If you must enter the water then make sure you bathe before and after, especially immediately after, to help reduce risk of contamination/infection.
5. Avoid raw shellfish
6. Only eat shellfish from deep cold water during the fall and winter months. Shellfish produce a type of chemical to help them survive in warmer water which is also toxic to humans. Also, it is easier for bacteria to thrive on seafood in warm water.
7. Make sure you clean and properly cook all seafood (all food for that mater). For added protection soak the meat in strong alcohol (vodka, rum etc…) to help clean the meat.

For those of you that love water sports, consider for a moment if you will…When you swim, ski, surf etc… in those lakes, rivers and oceans, the animals that live in that water (or fly above) also use the same water to urinate and defecate. Then consider that sewage (treated and untreated) is frequently pumped into the bays and oceans. So in essence (pun intended) you are swimming in toilet water. Is it any wonder there is so much bacteria?

The above advice also applies to swimming pools, no matter how often you clean them or how much chlorine or bromine you throw into the water. For those that like to swim in pools, ask yourself this before you enter the water next time…Would you take a bath with these people, would you drink their bath water?

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