Mum has limbs amputated after contracting infection from undercooked fish

A mum whose fingers and feet went black after eating undercooked fish has tragically lost all four of her limbs.

Laura Barajas, from California, contracted a bacterial infection from undercooking Tilapia fish in late July after purchasing the fish at a local market in San Jose. On Thursday, she was forced to undergo a life-saving amputation surgery after spending months in hospital battling the deadly infection.

The 40-year-old, who has a six-year-old boy, cooked and ate the fish herself, according to a friend, who said she “almost lost her life” from the incident. “It’s just been really heavy on all of us. It’s terrible. This could’ve happened to any of us,” Anna Messina told News 19. “She almost lost her life. She was on a respirator.”

She was placed into a medically induced coma after Laura contracted sepsis. “Her fingers were black, her feet were black her bottom lip was black. She had complete sepsis and her kidneys were failing”, Anna added.

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Medics believe the infection was likely caused by vibrio vulnificus, which is a bacterial infection the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recently warned about.

According to the CDC, around 150-200 cases of infections are reported each year, and around one in five people with the infection die. People who are immunocompromised are more at risk from the deadly bacteria.

CSF Infectious Disease expert Dr. Natasha Spottiswoode warned: “The ways you can get infected with this bacteria are one-you can eat something that’s contaminated with it the other way is by having a cut or tattoo exposed to water in which this bug lives.

“People should take sensible precautions like if you have a cut avoid getting immersed in water until it’s well healed,’ Ms Spottiswoode said. “If you are someone immunocompromised keeping an eye on these things and avoiding those high-risk activities and foods.”

Anna has set up a GoFundMe page to try and help her friend with the medical costs and her ongoing care needs. So far, $36,000 has been raised out of a target of $150,000, as she wrote “be thankful for what we have right now because it can be taken away so quickly so easily.”

Her friend added: “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 Messina wrote on the page, which has raised more than $26,000 so far.

“Jose’s paid time off (PTO) has been exhausted, and the Family Disability program provides only 60% of his normal income. The mounting hospital bills are overwhelming, and Laura’s physical condition will necessitate significant changes to their lives as they adapt to her new circumstance.”