Florida reports 13 deaths from rare flesh-eating bacteria after hurricanes

Thirteen people have died from rare flesh-eating bacteria infections in Florida this year amid a spike in cases related to hurricane activity in the state.

Florida health authorities said there have been 74 confirmed cases of Vibrio vulnificus infections in 2024, compared with 46 cases and 11 deaths in 2023.

Vibrio vulnificus is “a naturally occurring bacteria in warm, brackish seawater”, requiring salt to live, according to the Florida department of health.

Authorities attributed the surge to Hurricane Helene, which last month lashed Florida with breakneck winds and historic storm surge. The storm then traveled into southern Appalachia, ravaging western North Carolina with deadly flooding and landslides, killing about 100 people there.

“In 2024 Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties experiences unusual increase due to the impacts of Hurricane Helene,” the department said. Hurricane Milton struck Florida as a powerful category 3 storm on 9 October; at least two dozen were killed by the storm, many in relation to a tornado outbreak that unfolded before landfall.

Florida health authorities said “Vibrio bacteria, commonly found in warm coastal waters, can cause illness when ingested or when open wounds are exposed to contaminated water.”

“After heavy rainfall and flooding, the concentration of these bacteria may rise, particularly in brackish and saltwater environments,” they added.

Once infected, Vibrio vulnificus can prompt the breakdown of skin and soft tissue, USA Today said. To prevent the infection from spreading, medics might have to amputate the infected limb, though the infection can prove deadly.

This is not the first year that cataclysmic weather has prompted a Vibrio outbreak in Florida. In 2022, there were 74 cases and 17 deaths; health officials noted that Collier and Lee counties saw “unusual increase due to the impacts of Hurricane Ian”.

While some Vibrio infections do lead to necrotizing fasciitis, the severe infection in where flesh around an open wound dies, public health authorities believe that a type of Streptococcus is actually the most common cause of this condition in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some experts have balked at the use of “flesh-eating” to describe severe Vibrio infection, noting that it cannot destroy healthy and intact skin even with prolonged exposure.