‘Flesh-Eating’ Bacteria Rises To Record Levels After Florida Hurricanes

At a Glance

• Vibrio vulnificus can quickly lead to death or amputation
• Cases doubled since Hurricane Helene in Florida.
• State officials say the spike in “flesh-eating” bacteria is directly related to the weather

C​ases of a dangerous bacterial infection that can lead to amputation or death doubled to record levels in the past month in Florida, on the heels of back-to-back hurricanes.

W​hat the numbers show:

S​tate data updated Tuesday shows 74 confirmed cases this year of Vibrio vulnificus, also known as “flesh-eating” bacteria. At least 13 people have died.

T​hat’s twice the number of cases on Sept. 20, the week before Hurricane Helene battered the Tampa Bay area and other parts of the Gulf Coast while heading toward landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region. Cases started to rise shortly after Helene, and Milton came two weeks later.

Most of the cases were in areas hit hard by coastal flooding from one or both of the storms. Pinellas County, for example, had 14 cases as of Tuesday. An uptick in cases was also reported in Charlotte, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Pasco and Sarasota counties.

T​he number ties a record set in 2022, when Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida. As it did then, the state health department says the spike is directly related to the weather.

S​tate records posted online go back to 2015.

W​hat can make you sick:

Vibrio vulnificus thrives in warm brackish water and can be present along beaches, in bays and estuaries or in floodwaters and storm surge.

Vibrio bacteria can cause a host of illnesses, but the most serious of them is necrotizing fasciitis, which kills soft tissue. That’s earned V. vulnificus the nickname “flesh-eating bacteria.”

I​nfections start with broken skin like a scratch or a bug bite and can quickly become a medical emergency, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I​t’s also not the only threat lurking in water after a storm.

“Storm surge can increase water-related diseases and spread contaminates and even sewage to normally dry areas and even freshwater rivers, lakes and the water you drink,” weather.com senior meteorologist Dina Knightly said. “Although coastal flooding from storm surge at some point recedes, contaminates, allergens and disease have already been spread.”

W​atch out for:

S​ymptoms of a wound infection from vibrio include fever, redness, pain, swelling, warmth, discoloration of the wound or tissue and leaking discharge.

I​n the 2022 outbreak fueled by Ian, the CDC connected at least 29 cases of vibrio in in Lee and Collier counties to the storm. Of those, nine people died. Three people had to have lower limbs amputated.

Death records showed that several of the people who died had pre-existing conditions that may have made them more susceptible to severe infection. All were exposed to coastal floodwaters from Ian, most either while trapped in their homes during the storm or when cleaning up after.

Weather.com reporter Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.