Deadly Bacteria Lurking in Warm U.S. Waters
Posted By Scuba Diver Girl Anna on July 26, 2010
By Salvatore Cardoni, takepart.com
There’s a predator in Florida’s warm waters. No, it’s not a BP tar ball or even a man-eating shark, though it is a killer. Meet Vibrio vulnificus—the deadly bacteria that has sickened 138 and killed 31 people since 2005.
The little-known virus predominantly infects the “open wounds of beachgoers and incites a life-threatening illness in those with weakened immune systems,” reports the Miami Herald.
“The high mortality rate makes it a big deal,” Juan A. Suarez, a regional environmental epidemiologist for Florida Department of Health, told the Herald.
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