The name Vibrio vulnificus sounded very unfamiliar. The shop assistants and a few regular customers who came to watch the show were not even sure what it was.
If Zhang Zian said that animals were poisonous, even if he said that the fish that scratched Welder Zhao's palm yesterday did not seem to be poisonous, but actually had a genetic mutation that was poisonous, Welder Zhao and Electrician Wu would definitely believe it. But in terms of bacteria … It sounded too mysterious.
In everyone's understanding, the most common infection after an injury was tetanus. What the hell was Vibrio vulnificus?
Zhang Zian knew that if he didn't explain it clearly, it would be impossible to get Welder Zhao, who was more stubborn than a donkey, to go to the hospital. So, he patiently explained the ins and outs of Vibrio vulnificus.
There were about 90 types of Vibrio, most of which were not directly harmful to the human body, so Zhang Zian only knew about this one type of Vibrio. After all, this Vibrio was closely related to marine organisms.
Vibrio vulnificus was only singled out as a new pathogen in 1976. Since then, it had gradually gained people's attention.
This Vibrio could only survive in seawater. It was salt-loving and liked high temperatures. Generally, when the temperature was higher than 30 degrees Celsius, the temperature of the seawater would also be higher than 20 degrees Celsius. At that time, this Vibrio vulnificus would become active, so people were often infected during the temperate summer, or during most of the year in tropical and subtropical areas.
As long as the temperature was suitable, Vibrio vulnificus was widely distributed in the sea. Whether it was eating undercooked seafood or if a wound came into contact with seawater, it could be infected with Vibrio vulnificus. Some developed countries had already given relevant warnings on seafood labels.
Having said that, healthy people had enough resistance, so they were actually less likely to be infected with Vibrio vulnificus. The high-risk group was men with chronic liver disease who lived by the sea.
That's right. Young women were rarely infected with Vibrio vulnificus due to the protection of estrogen in their bodies. It could only be said that girls were really favored everywhere. Even the bacteria were lenient to them …
However, when women got older, their estrogen levels dropped, and their chances of being infected were close to that of men. This was the so-called "bacteria are like beauties since ancient times, and they are not allowed to grow old."
The reason why it was emphasized was that people living by the sea faced greater danger, because only people living by the sea had the opportunity to eat fresh seafood that had just come out of the water, and only then would there be a chance of being infected by Vibrio vulnificus, especially in the process of processing seafood, such as when scraping the scales and removing the internal organs … On the contrary, people living inland, because the seafood they ate was frozen, there was no possibility of being infected by Vibrio vulnificus.
It was common knowledge that no matter how salty the seawater was, once it froze, it would desalinate into fresh water. Vibrio vulnificus, which loved high temperatures and salinity, would soon freeze to death.
It could only be said that while people living by the sea enjoyed the most delicious and natural taste of seafood, they also faced the possibility of being infected by this terrible bacteria.
Just like what Electrician Wu had said, how many of the elderly retirees were completely healthy? They more or less had some chronic diseases, and young people were basically in a sub-healthy state.
Welder Zhao liked to drink. Zhang Zian did not see his medical report, but he guessed that he had a certain degree of alcoholic liver, which was more common among middle-aged and elderly men who retired from the factory.
As a middle-aged and elderly man with an unhealthy liver, Welder Zhao belonged to the group of people who were most likely to be infected by Vibrio vulnificus.
The scary thing about Vibrio vulnificus was that, first, it could cause death within 48 hours from the beginning of infection. Since there were relatively few cases, it was generally estimated that the fatality rate was more than 40%. If treatment was not done in time, even if one's life was spared, it was very likely that they would have to amputate their limbs. Second, humans knew too little about this bacteria. Humans were not even sure about its pathogenesis, and medical schools would not even mention it.
Because of the lack of knowledge about Vibrio vulnificus, infected people were often like Welder Zhao when they got sick, and they missed the best time for treatment. Even if they went to the hospital for treatment, the doctors might use the wrong treatment plan due to their ignorance of the disease. It could even be said that the reason why the disease was rare was not because there were so few infected people, but because some of the infected people had died without knowing why.
Logically speaking, the reason why Vibrio vulnificus had such a high fatality rate was not that it was that powerful. Some bacteria on land were more powerful than it, but humans were animals that lived on land. The immune system had almost no specific immunity to bacteria in the sea, unlike the flu, which came in different forms almost every year. If the flu virus did not change its form, the human immune system might not have been afraid of the flu for a long time.
It was like a cat receiving dog blood for the first time. The cat's immune system was clueless about dog blood cells, so there was no rejection reaction. However, in fact, it had already secretly marked the characteristics of dog blood cells. If it dared to receive a second blood transfusion, the immune system would be overrun in minutes.
In the summer, everyone liked to go to the seaside to play in the water, to cool down, and to feast their eyes. When they had fun, they always forgot how scary the sea was. There were all kinds of dangers lurking in the sea. Not only were there sharks and jellyfish on the surface, but even the residents of the microscopic world that could not be seen with the naked eye were ready to invade the human body at any time.
Zhang Zian briefly explained the horrors of Vibrio vulnificus, and even the carefree Welder Zhao became listless. His face was pale. They always laughed at themselves for having one foot in the grave, but when faced with the real danger of death, who wouldn't cherish their own life?
"Zhao! Why are you still sitting there? Go to the hospital! " Electrician Wu was the first to react. He grabbed Welder Zhao's arm and pulled him out. "Xiao Zhang, I'll find someone to do the rest of the work. You don't have to worry about it …"
"Wait!"
Zhang Zian ran back to the second floor, took out a few pills from the medicine cabinet, and handed them to Welder Zhao. "Take some medicine first. When you get to the hospital, directly call the emergency department. Tell them that you're infected with Vibrio vulnificus and must be treated immediately. You can be tough, or else some medical staff might neglect you because they don't know about this bacteria."
Welder Zhao was at a loss. He drank the medicine with mineral water without hesitation, and without even asking, he took out his phone in a panic. "I … I want to call my wife …"
"Aiya! You're usually so energetic, but you're so wishy-washy at times like this! "Electrician Wu snatched the phone away in disappointment." Let's go to the hospital first! Let's go! "
Electrician Wu pulled and dragged Welder Zhao out of the shop like a dead dog. He waved his hand to stop a taxi and went straight to the nearest hospital.
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