Laura Barajas contracted the infection from undercooked tilapia fish.
A tragic incident has occurred in California, where a woman lost all four of her limbs. This devastating outcome is the result of her contracting a bacterial infection, supposedly resulting from eating undercooked tilapia that had been contaminated with a lethal strain of bacteria, according to accounts from her friends.
Laura Barajas, a 40-year-old mother, underwent life-saving surgery Thursday after a months-long stay in the hospital, the New York Post reports.
“It’s been very hard for all of us. It’s terrible. This could have happened to any of us,” said Anna Messina, a friend of Ms. Barajas. KRON.
Messina said Barajas became ill after eating fish she had bought at a local market in San José and prepared herself at home.
“She almost lost her life. She was on a ventilator,” Messina said.
“She was put in a medically induced coma. She had black toes, black feet and a black lower lip. She had complete sepsis and her kidneys were failing,” he added.
Messina has stated that Barajas contracted Vibrio vulnificus, a potentially deadly bacteria commonly found in raw seafood and seawater. This underscores the critical importance of properly preparing and handling seafood to avoid such serious health risks.
“The ways you can get infected with this bacteria are: one, you can eat something that is contaminated with it. [and] The other way is to expose a cut or tattoo to the water that this insect lives in,” said Dr. Natasha Spottiswoode, an infectious disease expert at UCSF. KRON.
