Mother loses all four limbs after contracting bacterial infections from undercooked fish in California

A woman from California, US, had to get her all four limbs amputated after she contracted a bacterial infection from undercooked tilapia fish.

Laura Barajas, 40, underwent surgery on Thursday after spending months in the hospital struggling with the infection, according to media reports.

Barajas, who has a six-year-old son, likely caught the infection after she ate an undercooked tilapia fish that she bought from a local market in San Jose in July. She cooked the fish herself before eating it. But, just after a few days, Barajas fell ill and had to be hospitalised, her friend Anna Messina, told a local media outlet.

“It’s just been really heavy on all of us. It is terrible. This could have happened to any of us,” Messina shared.

Messina added that Barajas’ health deteriorated and she had to be put into a medically induced coma. “She almost lost her life. She was on a respirator. They put her into a medically induced coma. Her fingers were black, her feet were black, her bottom lip was black. She had complete sepsis and her kidneys were failing,” Messina said.

Messina said that Barajas got infected with a bacteria called 'Vibrio vulnificus' that may have been present in the fish.

Messina, who started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for her friend’s treatment, shared that Barajas spent over a month in the hospital “fighting for her life, she is now a quadruple amputee”, according to an international media outlet.

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