At least 14 people have gotten sick from Vibrio vulnificus this year, according to state health officials

NEED TO KNOW

• A second person in Florida has died from Vibrio vulnificus, a rare bacteria linked to raw shellfish, health officials said
• Florida health officials have reported 14 cases this year, with infections most common from June to September
• The bacteria can cause life-threatening illness and is especially dangerous for people with weakened immune systems

A second person has died in Florida from the flesh eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, according to health officials.

The Florida Department of Health (FDH) shared on its website that a person from Marion County in central Florida died as a result of the rare and dangerous bacteria.

Vibrio naturally lives in coastal waters, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The majority of people are sickened by Vibrio after eating raw or undercooked shellfish, namely oysters, because the bacteria will “concentrate” inside the shellfish. However, oysters also naturally live in brackish water and cause an infection if a swimmer has an open wound — or a recent tattoo or piercing.

The Marion County resident who died was between the ages of 60 and 64, according to Florida Today.

The first death was reported in June in Palm Beach County in southwest Florida, PEOPLE previously reported. According to Florida Today’s latest reporting, the individual was aged between 10 and 14 years old.

At least 14 people have gotten sick from Vibrio vulnificus this year, according to the state’s health department. 

Health officials say that healthy people who get Vibrio vulnificus in their systems usually develop a “mild disease,” but it can be dangerous for people with weakened immune systems, especially those who have chronic liver disease.

The bacterium can invade the bloodstream, causing a severe and life-threatening illness with symptoms like “fever, chills, decreased blood pressure (septic shock) and blistering skin lesions,” the FDH said on its website. Ingesting of Vibrio vulnificus can also cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

To avoid getting Vibrio vulnificus, the health department suggests avoiding raw oysters or other raw shellfish and cooking shellfish like oysters, clams, mussels thoroughly before ingesting them. They recommend boiling shucked oysters or frying them for at least 10 minutes at 375°F.

The agency also recommends avoiding exposure of open wounds or broken skin to warm salt or brackish water or to raw shellfish harvested from such waters.

Last year, there were 33 cases of Vibrio vulnificus and five deaths reported in the state, which has cases dating all the way back to at least 2017. The greatest number of cases reported for the bacteria came during years when several counties were impacted by hurricanes in 2022 and 2024.

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Infections are most common in Florida from June through September, when more people could come into contact with brackish waters by going fishing, going to the beach or dining on fresh seafood, according to Florida Today. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 80,000 cases of vibriosis happen each year in the United States with 52,000 cases happening as a result of eating contaminated food.

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