SAN JOSE — Health officials on Wednesday contradicted claims that a San Jose woman contracted a flesh-eating virus from eating a fish bought at a local market, resulting in amputations of all four of her limbs.
A GoFundMe fundraiser that garnered international attention said 40-year-old Laura Barajas was forced to undergo a quadruple amputation procedure last week after contracting Vibrio, a bacterial infection, after eating the undercooked fish. The fundraiser has gone viral since posting Friday, garnering headlines in People Magazine, Daily Mail, USA Today and Page Six. As of Wednesday evening, the fundraiser had raised more than $110,000.
In a statement, county health officials said that they were able identify a hospitalized patient matching the description in media reports Tuesday, and asked the hospital staff to notify the department if there was suspicion of any disease they are legally required to report.
“Preliminary information has now been received regarding this individual, confirming that no laboratory tests are positive for Vibrio. Several different diseases including but not limited to Vibrio can cause tragic clinical outcomes like this one,” the agency said. “Public Health is actively investigating to confirm if a cause of this illness can be identified.”
Officials with the county, as well as the state Department of Public Health, both confirmed that no cases of Vibrio vulnificus infections have been reported to their agencies. In Santa Clara County, all Vibrio infections are required to be reported by medical providers within one business day of diagnosis.
The department said that as of Wednesday, there was no indication of a wider risk to public health.
The actual cause of Barajas’ illness — and reported amputation of all four of her limbs — remains unclear. The county health department said Wednesday that it had not identified any broader risk to public safety.
In a text message to this news organization, the organizer of the page, Anna Messina, said she based the description on an “initial diagnosis” of Barajas condition that was relayed to her, but added she had not received any updates from the family.
Attempts to reach the Barajas’ relatives Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Incidents of Vibrio vulnificus infections are on the rise. On Sept. 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning to healthcare professionals about the uptick earlier this month, attributing it trend in part to rising temperatures in ocean waters. The bacteria thrives in warmer waters, primarily on the coasts of the Gulf Coast states according to the CDC, mainly between the months of May and October.
The bacteria is primarily transmitted when an open wound with the water where the bacteria lives, though in about 10 percent of cases its contracted through consumption.
Dr. Stanley Deresinski, a clinical professor of medicine specializing in infectious diseases at Stanford Health Care, said prevalence of the bacteria should only increase as climate change persists.
“The numbers of cases has been increasing and climate change is likely playing a role,” he said.
Shellfish is the most common way to contract the bacteria through consumption, but it has shown to spread in fish through aqua-farms, according to Deresinski. With fish packed in a tight, contained body of water for the purpose of farming for consumption, waterborne bacteria can spread rapidly.
“They’re all exposed to the same water, to an extent,” he said. “There would be multiple such fish infected.”
Amputation is necessary in particularly aggressive cases.
“When you ingest the vibrio vulnificus it could rapidly invade the body and cause systemic illness to the patient,” Deresinski said. “As the organism spreads through the body they may have complications including ones leading to losing your limbs.”
As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe for Barajas remained active, and the description of her condition was unchanged.
“This family is in desperate need of our help. While Jose has health benefits through his work, it remains uncertain whether they will cover Laura, his partner of eight years,” the post reads. “The mounting hospital bills are overwhelming, and Laura’s physical condition will necessitate significant changes to their lives as they adapt to her new circumstances.”
GoFundMe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.