Rising sea temperatures linked to climate change are fuelling the spread of Vibrio, popularly known as “flesh-eating bacteria”, across European coastlines, with several beaches in Spain already closed this summer as a precaution. The bacterium, which lives naturally in marine and brackish waters, is of particular concern in the Mediterranean, which scientists regard as one of the regions most vulnerable to global warming, raising questions for a coastline, including the French Riviera, that depends heavily on summer tourism.
Vibrio occurs naturally in seawater, particularly where rivers meet the sea, and according to the European Food Safety Authority can be present in seafood. Certain strains, including Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, can cause illness ranging from gastroenteritis to severe infections contracted through eating raw seafood or through open wounds exposed to seawater. The charity Gavi notes that Vibrio is a relative of the bacterium that causes cholera, though the two produce very different illnesses, and that severe cases can lead to necrotising fasciitis, in which tissue around a wound rapidly breaks down, or to sepsis requiring amputation of the affected limb.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has warned of a heightened risk of Vibrio infections through the summer, particularly during heatwaves and in shallow coastal waters.
A warming sea under pressure
Hatim Aznague, an analyst for projects, climate action and energy resilience at the Union for the Mediterranean, told Euronews that warmer, less saline water, of the kind found near river mouths and lagoons, creates more favourable conditions for pathogenic bacteria to multiply. He said the Mediterranean is among the fastest-warming seas on the planet, and that the bacteria themselves are best understood as a symptom rather than the underlying issue, telling Euronews: “Bacteria are not the story; they are the messengers.”
The European Food Safety Authority has said the prevalence of Vibrio in seafood is expected to increase both globally and in Europe as a result of climate change, particularly in low-salinity waters and estuaries, while antimicrobial resistance detected in some strains adds a further layer of concern for public health.
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Photo credit: Marita Mones, Unsplash