Florida Has Recorded Its Second Death From Flesh-Eating Bacteria This Year

Two people are dead in Florida from Vibrio vulnificus so far in 2026, and health officials are warning residents and beachgoers that the risk isn't going away anytime soon.

The Florida Department of Health confirmed the second death on August 6, with the fatality occurring in Marion County in late July. The first death happened earlier this year in Palm Beach County and involved a resident between 80 and 84 years old. At least 14 other people have been sickened by the bacteria in Florida this year. Louisiana is dealing with its own outbreak simultaneously — five deaths and nine confirmed cases in that state as of early August.

Vibrio vulnificus is the bacteria behind the "flesh-eating" label that makes headlines every summer. It lives naturally in warm, salty, and brackish coastal waters — the kind you find at Florida beaches — and thrives in the heat of summer, which is exactly why cases spike between June and October.

How You Actually Get It

There are two main ways this bacteria gets into your body and neither one involves anything exotic.

The first is eating raw or undercooked shellfish — particularly oysters. Oysters filter large volumes of water and concentrate whatever bacteria are in it. If Vibrio is in the water, it ends up in the oyster. Eating it raw means ingesting it directly.

The second is going into the ocean, a bay, or any coastal water with an open wound. A fresh cut, a new tattoo or piercing, a surgical incision, even a bad scrape — any break in the skin that hasn't fully healed is a potential entry point. The bacteria doesn't need much of an opening. Once it gets into the bloodstream through that wound, the infection can escalate fast.

What It Does to the Body

This is where it earns the nickname. Vibrio vulnificus can cause necrotizing fasciitis — a condition where tissue around the infection site begins to die rapidly. Skin blisters. The affected area turns dark. Without aggressive treatment, including surgical removal of infected tissue, the infection spreads. Amputation is sometimes the only way to stop it from killing the patient.

Symptoms to watch for include fever, chills, hot red areas on the skin that spread and darken, and blistering around any wound that was exposed to ocean water. The CDC says people should see a doctor immediately if those signs appear after beach or seafood exposure. This is not a wait-and-see situation.

Nationally the CDC estimates around 150 to 200 Vibrio vulnificus infections per year. About 1 in 5 people who get infected die from it. Healthy adults with intact immune systems generally handle it better — but the bacteria is particularly dangerous for people with liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, or weakened immune systems. Those groups should be especially cautious about raw shellfish and saltwater exposure with open wounds.

Louisiana Is Having a Bad Year Too

While Florida draws most of the attention because of its beach tourism, Louisiana is dealing with five Vibrio deaths in 2026 — more than Florida so far. State officials there issued a formal warning last week. The Gulf Coast in general is warm, shallow, and brackish in many areas — ideal conditions for Vibrio to thrive throughout the summer months.

Florida's History With This Bacteria

This isn't a new problem for the state. Between 2008 and 2025, Florida recorded 179 deaths from Vibrio vulnificus — an average of more than 10 deaths per year. The worst year on record was 2024, when 82 cases and 19 deaths were recorded — a spike directly linked to Hurricane Helene, which caused widespread flooding that pushed contaminated coastal water into areas where people lived and worked.

Flooding dramatically increases Vibrio risk because it brings brackish water into contact with people in ways that don't happen under normal conditions — standing floodwater in neighborhoods, debris that causes cuts, and general chaos that makes it harder to avoid exposure.

What You Should Actually Do

Skip raw oysters if you're immunocompromised or have liver or kidney disease. That's the CDC's guidance and it's consistent regardless of the time of year.

For everyone else — if you have any kind of open wound, keep it out of the ocean, the bay, or any coastal water until it's fully healed. Even a small cut is enough. Wash cuts and scrapes thoroughly with soap and clean running water immediately after any contact with coastal waters or raw seafood. If you develop a fever, spreading redness, or blistering near a wound after beach time or a seafood meal, get to a doctor fast and mention the exposure specifically.

The bacteria isn't everywhere and most people who swim in Florida's waters this summer will be fine. But it kills roughly one in five people it infects — and the people who die usually waited too long to get help.

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