Derek Michael D’Arcy died less than two weeks after he was exposed to Vibrio vulnificus though a cut on his leg
NEED TO KNOW
- Virginia teacher and pastor Derek Michael D’Arcy contracted the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus after wading in calf-high water during a family trip to Virginia Beach
- The bacteria entered through a cut on his leg, his wife Joyce D’Arcy told 13 News Now
- D’Arcy had his legs amputated due to necrotizing fasciitis, but he died less than 13 days after contracting the bacteria due to the infection spreading throughout his body
A Virginia father and pastor died less than two weeks after being exposed to the flesh-eating bacteriaVibrio vulnificus while wading in calf-deep water on a family trip.
“Virginia Beach was our absolutely favorite place to go, so it’s just so sad that the best place that we had is where he got sick,” Joyce D’Arcy told13 News Now. Her husband Derek Michael D’Arcy, 64, waded calf-high in the water at Virginia Beach — but, she says, the vibrio bacteria entered his bloodstream through a cut on his leg, and he died 13 days later.
Vibrio naturally live in coastal waters, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people are sickened by vibrio after eating raw or undercooked shellfish — particularly oysters — because the bacteria will “concentrate” inside the shellfish, the CDC explains. But since the bacteria is present in brackish water, it can also cause an infection if a swimmer has an open wound, like D’Arcy did.
The best-case scenario for a vibrio infection includes “watery diarrhea, often accompanied by stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, and fever,” the CDC explains. But bloodstream and wound infections are far more severe, causing “dangerously low” blood pressure, skin blisters, and necrotizing fasciitis, commonly known as the flesh-eating disease. As the CDC notes, “Doctors may need to amputate a patient’s legs or arms to remove dead or infected tissue.”…