More people are getting sick from exposure to a dangerous microbe that inhabits South Carolina coastal waters, but efforts to learn about the germ and warn the public have become a challenge as the organism expands its range.
The number of cases of vibrio, a microbe known to infect open wounds and cause illnesses from shellfish consumption, has doubled in the past five years, according to data from the S.C. Department of Public Health.
It’s a trend that has scientists scrambling to find more money to research vibrio, which in some forms, can strip the flesh from a person’s limbs and kill in a matter of days. The rise in cases also has renewed calls for the state to post warning signs on public waterways about vibrio’s threat…