CALVERT COUNTY, Md. — After an Annapolis woman reported that her husband had contracted a “flesh-eating” bacteria from the Chesapeake Bay, residents are making their thoughts known.
The unidentified woman said her husband cut his leg on a fishing trap while in the bay. The cut later got infected and didn’t respond to antibiotics, landing him in a shock trauma center. The bacteria was Aeromonas hydrophila, an antibiotic-resistant “necrotizing fasciitis” which many refer to as flesh-eating bacteria. Doctors were able to save the man’s leg and expect him to make a full recovery.
Necrotizing fasciitis bacteria are found all over the world. The most commonly known flesh-eating bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, has been found in the Chesapeake in the past and has been in the news this summer because of ongoing cases in Florida.
Experts on the Chesapeake Bay have long advised that people should avoid contact with the bay if they have open cuts and for 48 hours after it rains. Stormwater carries pollutant runoff into bodies of water, which increases the probability that dangerous bacteria is present in the waters and can lead to higher concentration levels of those bacteria. A Maryland Department of Natural Resources report also recently found that this year, “late June had the largest historical volume of hypoxia seen within Maryland for the time period of the monitoring program,” due to two consecutive hot, rainy months. Hypoxia is low or depleted oxygen in the water that helps create conditions where bacteria thrive.
Each county monitors its water levels and posts updates on swimming conditions. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources also has a water quality monitoring program.
Bay swimming areas regularly update their swimming advisories on their websites and on social media. Still, residents are pushing back against the ongoing struggle to keep bay waters safe and their inability to enjoy Southern Maryland’s water amenities the way they’d like — which is a huge part of the region’s identity.
Many residents posted online that they’d be staying away from bay waters for the rest of the summer and wondered why this issue was so prevalent in some areas of the bay more than others.
Either way, residents said they’d use caution when visiting Southern Maryland’s beaches.
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Per the photo, which beach is closed?