Experts say the bacteria is usually found in warm, coastal waters, and can cause serious, potentially life-threatening infections when contaminated seawater enters an open wound, according to the CDC.
An elderly Palm Beach County resident has become the first person in Florida to die from the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus this year, with health officials warning that the deadliest stretch of the infection season is just beginning. The victim, aged 80 to 84, was among 11 confirmed Vibrio vulnificus cases reported across the state […] The post Florida reports first flesh-eating bacteria death of 2026 as summer cases climb appeared first on American Almanac .
An elderly Palm Beach County resident has become the first person in Florida to die from the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus this year, with health officials warning that the deadliest stretch of the infection season is just beginning. The victim, aged 80 to 84, was among 11 confirmed Vibrio vulnificus cases reported across the state so far in 2026, Fox Weather reported . No additional details about the deceased, name, sex, or how the infection was contracted, have been released. The Florida Department of Health confirmed the death and the statewide case count but offered little beyond a boilerplate precautionary statement. The bacterium thrives in warm, brackish coastal water, exactly the conditions that blanket Florida's…Open