Hundreds of Tough Mudder Racers Infected By Rugged, Nasty Bacterium (arstechnica.com) 53
Hundreds of people who participated in a recent Tough Mudder event -- a very muddy obstacle course race -- held in Sonoma, California, have fallen ill with pustular rashes, lesions, fever, flu-like symptoms, nerve pain, and other symptoms, local health officials and media outlets report. From a report: The cases could be caused by various infectious agents, including Staphylococcus bacteria, but the leading culprit is the relatively obscure Aeromonas bacteria -- specifically A. hydrophila, according to the Sonoma County health department. In a statewide alert this week, the California Department of Public Health said it is considering it an Aeromonas outbreak, noting that multiple wound cultures have yielded the hardy bacterium.
A spokesperson for the Sonoma County health department told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday that, based on calls and emails the department had received, health officials estimate that the outbreak involves around 300 cases. Tough Mudder participants, meanwhile, have tallied as many as 489 cases in online forums. The Tough Mudder event was held at the Sonoma Raceway on August 19 and 20, 2023, with symptoms of infection developing in cases within 12 to 48 hours afterward. The Sonoma County health department advisory noted that the race "involved extensive skin exposure to mud" and that participants with a rash, fever, or other symptoms should go to their health care provider or, if no provider is available, to a local emergency department.
A spokesperson for the Sonoma County health department told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday that, based on calls and emails the department had received, health officials estimate that the outbreak involves around 300 cases. Tough Mudder participants, meanwhile, have tallied as many as 489 cases in online forums. The Tough Mudder event was held at the Sonoma Raceway on August 19 and 20, 2023, with symptoms of infection developing in cases within 12 to 48 hours afterward. The Sonoma County health department advisory noted that the race "involved extensive skin exposure to mud" and that participants with a rash, fever, or other symptoms should go to their health care provider or, if no provider is available, to a local emergency department.
Mud/swamp and disease (Score:5, Interesting)
I guess muddy wet places are bacteria central... probably the evolutionary reason why critters from those areas like crocs have some killer immune systems.
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Re:Mud/swamp and disease (Score:5, Insightful)
The fact they did not enact any subsequent statewide legislation replacing this regulation is just how the GOP operates. They are all about making sure few regulations are enacted.
Cool, now do abortion and cannabis.
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They are all about making sure few regulations are enacted.
They regularly regulate morality.
Re:Mud/swamp and disease (Score:5, Informative)
They are all about making sure few regulations are enacted.
You really bought that bullshit?
Reconcile your thoughts of them being "all about making sure few regulations are enacted" with the increase nationwide in banning and regulating of abortion, or the adamant opposition to legalizing mostly harmless controlled substances such as cannabis. Or maybe anything to do with immigration regulations that can never get reform across the finish line even with partial GOP support. Or the increased regulations around voter ID laws. Or perhaps the increase in regulations that are meant to disenfranchise voters that don't traditionally vote for them. Or kicking duly elected members of the Tennessee legislature out because they aren't willing to shut up about continuously increasing events of gun violence and wanted to actually do the job that their constituents asked them to do.
No, they are all about making sure few regulations are enacted on them and their supporters.. Everyone else gets the strong arm of legislative authority, especially when it's a red-meat issue for the hard-core base.
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Reconcile your thoughts of them being "all about making sure few regulations are enacted" with the increase nationwide in banning and regulating of abortion, or the adamant opposition to legalizing mostly harmless controlled substances such as cannabis.
I never said their stance was about doing that equally. Remember the GOP is all about projecting being pro-business and passing laissez faire regulations for businesses as special citizens while legislating morality for everyone else.
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Likely. And why smart people stay out of these places.
When will people learn... (Score:1)
Outside of the comforts of our inhabited areas, you are food! Be it from a bear, large cat, insect, amoeba, fungus, or bacteria.
Against visible antagonists (bear, cat) you may be able to 'out man' them and maybe scare them away. The smaller the critter, the less our ability to ward off - other than to just stay out of their habitat.
Careful what you do, when you're 4-days paddle/hike from the nearest possible help.
An excellent example of... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
Fuck around and find out what happens next.
Babies ! (Score:3)
>> Fuck around and find out what happens next.
Babies !
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So don't go out in nature ever ?
I've done many of these races, albeit with Spartan Race rather than Tough Mudder, and never got sick. It's basically a hike with a brisk pace.
If you go outside, you might catch something. But going outside has massive health benefits.
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Going outside and "very muddy obstacle course race" are two different things.
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> Going outside and "very muddy obstacle course race" are two different things
Farmers walk around very muddy terrain all the time. Hiking in nature you'll walk in mud.
It literally is going outside for a walk in nature. If you prefer, you can stick to your concrete brutalist modern nightmares.
Re:An excellent example of... (Score:5, Informative)
But the farmers wear knee-high rubber boots and merely WALK in the mud, they don't roll around in it. I grew up surrounded by farms; while farmers are not "scared of a little dirt", they still try and avoid getting to dirty unless they have to.
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Nothing forces you to roll around in the mud during Tough Mudder.
Look I enjoy arguing with people who've never done any outdoors stuff, but you guys are obviously germophobes. There's hundreds of these events per year, have been for a decade, and this is the first time something like this happened.
It's not advertised as safe either, injuries happen. If you don't like it, don't do it, but don't pretend your smarter for not doing it. It's fun and you're missing out.
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they don't roll around in it.
I did Tough Mudder in Australia with my sister. She didn't get muddy, at least not above her ankles. The obstacle course isn't about rolling around in the mud, heck for the most part it's just long distance running.
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Funny, I go out walking in nature all the time and I meet other people walking the same trails, and not a single time has there been a multi-hundred person outbreak of bacterial infections that cause pustular rashes and lesions.
Turns out that I don't go rolling around in god damn mud while walking in nature because I know that there is bacteria that live in such places, and not all of that bacteria is a helpful agent to human life. See: staph infections, e. coli, etc.
So yeah, there's a little bit of middle
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Indeed. And just because it is an "event" does not mean it is safe.
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It's not advertised as safe either. What's your point ?
First time I did Spartan Race, I had to get an eyelid glued back on.
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I am not talking about the advertising. I am talking about people with no sense of danger.
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> I am talking about people with no sense of danger.
Just because you balk at the very idea of risk taking, doesn't mean people who don't lack a sense of danger. We just think the danger is part of what makes the experience genuine and enjoyable.
Crawling under barbed wire is not safe. Everyone who crawls under barbed wire knows its not safe. We all know it's dangerous, we're all as careful as we can. Still took out my eyelid because I raised my head a bit too high at one point in the 500 meter crawl.
I
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Yeah, just because you can sit at home on your fat arse expending as few calories as possible doesn't mean you should. Statistically speaking not participating is far worse for your health. There have been literally 10s of thousands of these kinds of obstacle courses around the world. A bacteria infection in one event is not data, it's a statistical outlier.
Mudder's Milk (Score:2)
If this [geekychef.com] doesn't cure 'em, at least it will help them forget the pain.
Might need a little extra of that first ingredient though.
In the Venn diagram (Score:5, Funny)
Of slashdot readers and tough mudder participants, you have two circles.
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Of slashdot readers and tough mudder participants, you have two circles.
I'm the anomaly. I've done one tough mudder, and have nearly considered doing another on multiple occasions. After reading this article summary though, I'm much less likely to in the future.
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Of slashdot readers and tough mudder participants, you have two circles.
I'm the anomaly. I've done one tough mudder, and have nearly considered doing another on multiple occasions. After reading this article summary though, I'm much less likely to in the future.
I'm curious, did they post results online?
I was looking around for results of this one since "hundreds" is a lot but I wanted to know the denominator as well to actually get an idea for what the probability of getting infected was.
Either way the idea sounds fun but sloughing through mud seems like a bad idea, if anything they may have got lucky, what if it was some flesh eating bacteria floating around in there?
Weak Mudder (Score:2)
"Tough Mudder" next year to be renamed "Weak Mudder "
Hopefully they've learned their lesson (Score:5, Funny)
The outdoors is trying to kill you! I suggest avoiding it as much as possible. Stay safe in your mother's basement, bathed in the sickly blue light of your 40" LCD gaming monitor.
"Weak Mudder" (Score:2)
"Tough Mudder" next year to be renamed "Weak Mudder "
Mom said mud is good for your immunity! (Score:2)
Mom was wrong.
Eating dirt? Sure, in moderation. Getting your hands in it - bit of gardening, some gets in your mouth - fine.
It does rock all for your immunity to anything - classic case of utter bollocks passed on as some sort of "elder truism".
Immersing yourself in it, sweating, running, diving and crawling through it?
I guess not all mud is created equal - at some point, especially in these times of questionable sewage control systems - mud could maybe prove somewhat bad for you.
Over here across the pond,
Bacterial Olympics 2024 (Score:2)
Maybe they shouldn't have chosen the location bacteria go for spring break as their venue.
Let the lawsuits commence (Score:2)
And that is the end of this event. I'm sure lawyers are busy calling...
Playing in muck (Score:2)
As a kid, unless I happened to be on a farm or something, the only complaint from my parents would be about the laundry.
I'm not sure that even as an adult I'd say this type of event should make you wary - I can't recall ever hearing about this kind of thing before and I doubt it's a lurking danger in every bit of mud out there - but maybe organizers in future should consider paying to have some samples tested for the more common dangerous bacteria, etc. before the event gets the green light.
Play Stupid Games (Score:2)
Global warming? (Score:4, Informative)
Aeromonas hydrophila is predominantly a warm-climate bacteria. It seems odd to have it in northern California, which is anything but. (As Twain said, the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.) :-D
Fortunately, contrary to the summary, they're not particularly rugged bacteria. They are generally susceptible to a wide range of modern antibiotics. Some of the older antibiotics are useless against them, but they're pretty broadly susceptible to tetracycline, third and fourth-generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, etc.
That said, it's easy to see why people who got cuts and were exposed to it would have experienced a high rate of infection. Prompt treatment with alcohol will kill it, but over-the-counter antibiotic cream is useless, because Aeromonas hydrophila has broad resistance to all three of the antibiotics used in over-the-counter antibiotic creams (neomycin, polymyxin, and bacitracin).
So I guess that makes it at least a little bit rugged and nasty. :-)
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It seems odd to have it in northern California, which is anything but. (As Twain said, the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.
Sonoma is a bit further inland than SF, so it can get warmer [weatherspark.com] in the summertime.
I wonder where the water came from? (Score:2)
That so many people seem to have gotten it to me suggests that it was in whatever water source they were using to create the mud. Think something like legionnaires disease that is sometimes found in water towers or a well becoming contaminated with Cholera. I wonder if someone thought it would be a good idea to get the water from a local lake or river that may not have been the cleanest body of water. I don't know about California but where I live the health department has to do spot checks on homes in s
I guess they aren't that tough (Score:2)