Tropical Storm Debby is expected to dump as much as a foot of rain as the storm moves through eastern North Carolina. A top concern for forecasters and emergency managers is flooding. It’s also an issue of unease for a North Carolina scientist who has spent years studying the pathogens that can be found in floodwaters.
Dr. Rachel Noble with the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City says there are often a lot of unhealthy organisms found in storm water – and one in particular that can be deadly.
"There are vibrio bacteria that are going to be found in those floodwaters in eastern North Carolina. We consistently have serious infections that result in hospitalizations and deaths after tropical events.”
Vibrio bacteria is found in brackish and balmy coastal waters and one of every five people who get the infection die. For others, its toxins attack flesh, turning infected sores into gaping wounds, which is why Vibrio is also referred to as “flesh-eating bacteria.”
"Those infections, once they take off, they're extremely difficult to control and they proceed really very rapidly,” explained Noble.
In the four months after Hurricane Florence, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 14 people had contracted Vibrio infections — nearly three times the number during the same period the previous year.
Noble emphasizes that people who come in contact with flood waters should shower right away, and if they have any cuts or scratches, they should be treated with a disinfectant like rubbing alcohol of hydrogen peroxide.
"Use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide if they come in contact with flood water, particularly that comes in contact with an open wound, which happens a lot whenever we're working out in the yard, you know, you just get nicks and scratches in your legs or in your arms.”
Nearly 6 years ago, Hurricane Florence sent Vibrio levels soaring in some North Carolina coastal waters, and Noble says those levels stayed very high well into December.