Flesh-Eating Bacteria Is Proving Deadly in Florida This Year

Four Floridians have died this year after contracting a flesh-eating bacteria in the state's coastal waters, highlighting a rare but deadly risk for beachgoers and seafood lovers.

• The culprit, Vibrio vulnificus, is a marine microbe that typically thrives in warm, brackish seawater, reports Fox News. It can enter the body through two main avenues: by humans swimming with open cuts or scrapes or consuming raw shellfish—particularly oysters, according to the state Health Department.
• Florida has seen 11 total cases so far this year, per the Washington Post. Nationally, the CDC sees 150 to 200 cases per year.

• Most healthy people experience only mild symptoms, but those with weakened immune systems or chronic liver conditions face heightened danger, say health officials. If the bacteria reach the bloodstream, about half of those infections end in death. Overall, the CDC estimates one in five cases are fatal.
• The bacterium can trigger vibriosis, which brings on stomach troubles like vomiting and diarrhea, or more alarmingly, severe skin infections that may lead to flesh dying around a wound—a condition known as necrotizing fasciitis.
• No evidence exists of the infection spreading from person to person.