San Jose woman loses limbs after battling bacterial infection from tilapia

A deadly pathogen has been identified as having infected a local lady who is still healing after over two months in the hospital. According to an internet fundraising campaign, she got the bacterial illness after eating fish and is now a quadruple amputee.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a public health warning about a bacterial illness that may be contracted by eating raw or undercooked seafood or by exposing an open wound to coastal waters. According to a friend, this San Jose woman most likely contracted this condition after eating undercooked fish.

A San Jose mother’s life is permanently altered. Laura Barajas, 40, had to have her limbs amputated due to a bacterial illness.

“It’s just been a lot on all of us.” It’s dreadful. “Any of us could have been in this situation,” claimed Barajas’ friend Anna Messina.

Messina claims that in late July, Barajas purchased tilapia from a nearby market for supper. She prepared it and ate it by herself. She became quite unwell within days and was hospitalized.

“She was on the verge of dying. “She was hooked up to a respirator,” Messina explained. “She was placed in a medically induced coma.” Her fingers were black, as were her feet and her bottom lip. Her kidneys were failing and she had full sepsis.”

Barajas is still without her limbs and legs a month and a half later.

Messina believes the sickness was caused by Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterial ailment about which the CDC has issued a warning.

“You can get infected with this bacteria by eating something contaminated with it, or by having a cut or tattoo exposed to water where this bug lives,” explained UCSF Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Natasha Spottiswoode.

According to Spottiswoode, the bacterium is especially dangerous for persons who are immunocompromised.

According to the CDC, around 150-200 instances of the diseases are documented each year, and one in every five persons infected die – often within one to two days after being unwell.

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“People should take reasonable precautions, such as not immersing themselves in water if they have a cut,” Spottiswoode said. “If you have a compromised immune system, keep an eye on these things and avoid high-risk activities and foods.”

Messina said she and Barajas’ family are still trying to figure out what occurred. She hopes that others realize how valuable life can be.

“Be thankful for what we have right now because it can be taken away so quickly and so easily,”Messina said.

Messina has put up a GoFundMe page to assist with her friend’s medical bills. It has already raised more than $20,000 so far.