Study warns flesh-eating ocean bacteria found in warm climates could migrate north as temperatures rise

Study warns flesh-eating ocean bacteria found in warm climates could migrate north as temperatures rise

Global warming could lead to spread of possibly fatal infections deriving from bacteria in warm coastal waters, new research shows.

'It’s expanding': Deadly flesh-eating bacteria thrive on East Coast as climate warms, research shows

As ocean temperatures rise due to climate change, bacteria that cause potentially deadly infections is spreading northwards up the East Coast.

Climate change could increase the impact of “meat-eating” bacteria

Over the past three decades, the number of annual infections with the pathogen Vibrio vulnificus in the United States increased from 10 to 80. It also affects countries such as Brazil and Uruguay. Who is most at risk and what are the symptoms

Scientists warn that cases of carnivorous bacteria could increase and occur in more places due to climate change

Due to the change in temperature in coastal waters, an alteration in the salinity of the water is expected, giving rise to the proliferation of bacteria, such as Vibrio vulnificus, which in several cases causes amputations or even death

Climate change could be causing flesh-eating bacteria to spread in warming oceans

Lobster fishermen work at sunrise on Sept. 8, 2022, off Kennebunkport, Maine. The waters off New England logged the second-warmest year in their recorded history in 2022, according to researchers.Robert F. Bukaty, Associated Press Warmer oceans caused by climate change may be hosting a growing number of flesh-eating bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus, according to a new Scientific Reports article published Thursday. The article says researchers …

Flesh-eating bacteria cases could increase and occur in more places due to climate change, study finds

While the bacteria is common in subtropical regions, there has been an increase of infections from Vibrio vulnificus in more northern locations, like the Delaware Bay.