Flesh-Eating Bacteria Warnings Go Up in Florida

**Flesh-Eating Bacteria Warnings Go Up in Florida**

With eight confirmed cases and two deaths so far in 2015, the Florida Department of Health is working to raise awareness about a rare bacteria in saltwater that can sicken people.

Vibrio vulnificus, also known as the “flesh-eating bacteria, is a naturally occurring, but rare organism that thrives in saltwater. The bacteria increases in numbers when the temperatures go up.

The bacteria can cause problems for humans in two ways œ through direct contact with saltwater when open wounds or present or through the consumption of raw shellfish, the state warns.

Most people who come into contact with the bacteria dont show severe symptoms. Signs of exposure in normally healthy people include such symptoms as stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains on its website that consumption of contaminated shellfish or open-wound exposure among immunocompromised people, “particularly those with chronic liver disease can infect the bloodstream, causing a severe and life-threatening illness characterized by fever and chills, decreased blood pressure, and blistering skin lesions.