After bathing in the Baltic Sea, a human being died of a Vibrion infection for the second time this summer. The person has suffered from several chronic diseases and thus belongs to the risk group, said the State Office for Health and Social Affairs (Lagus) in Rostock.
Further details were not mentioned. Vibrio bacteria can cause fatal infections in people with HIV or certain chronic diseases. Even very old people, liver patients or alcoholics are particularly susceptible to the germs. (Learn more about this topic here.)
The bacteria of the genus Vibrio spread mainly in salt water at temperatures above 20 degrees, at lower temperatures, they are primarily in the seabed. The germs penetrate into the body via open wounds and can trigger serious wound infections within a short time. These can then spread to other parts of the body. Rapid treatment with antibiotics can significantly reduce the course of the disease.
Already in August a woman had died after a bath in the Baltic Sea from a Vibrionen infection, a little later, another woman in the Baltic Sea infected with the dangerous bacteria.