This summer, the carnivorous bacterium, Vibrio, has made more people seriously sick after bathing in the sea. A similar bacterium has also been detected in the seawater for the first time.
Five people have been made severely ill by a very rare Vibrio bacteria. Everyone had swum with wounds in the Oslo Fjord. On Tuesday, the public health department announced that another person had become ill after swimming, this time with a new bacterium in Fredrikstad, wrote NRK news.
‘’It’s called ‘shewanella’, and it’s the first time we have seen this bacteria in Norway. It gives the same symptoms as the Vibrio bacteria. We know that these bacteria often occur in hot summers,” said senior physician, Hans Blystad, at the Public Health Institute.
In addition to the serious cases, so far, 20 people who have had mild vibrio infections have been reported. This was shown in fresh numbers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
People who have immunodeficiency, liver disease and open wounds – including new tattoos – should take precautions when bathing in areas where Vibrio bacteria have grown. So far there have been reports of blooms in the Oslo fjord and along the coast of Telemark and Sørlandet.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
