Flesh-eating bacteria in Florida waters: Three things you need to know

[teach1st]

Flesh-eating bacteria in Florida waters: Three things you need to know
Tampa Bay Times, 7/2/2019

Flesh-eating bacteria in Florida waters: Three things you need to know

After two more cases of flesh-eating bacteria infections were reported from Florida waters recently, Tampa Bay area physicians are warning residents and visitors to be careful swimming in brackish water or eating uncooked seafood.

A 77-year-old woman from Ellenton was infected by flesh-eating bacteria and died nearly two weeks after she fell and scraped her leg while walking on Anna Maria Island. The case came just weeks after the mother of a 12-year-old Indiana girl wrote on Facebook that she believes her daughter contracted the same infection during a trip to Destin in early June.

“Necrotizing fasciitis" is a bacteria that stops blood circulation and causes tissue to die and skin to decay. The infection is somewhat rare, and can come from different strains of bacteria, doctors say. But it's called "flesh-eating" because the infection is so rapidly progressing.

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[Gumboot]

1. Always another new threat to life & limb in Florida, eh?

Green algae, red tide, sugar run-off, petroleum in groundwater supplies, Rick Scott, hurricanes, stand your ground, sea water in aquifers... and now necrotizing fasciitis, too.

Next time I go snowbirding, I'll take an NBC suit with me.