It is known as Vibrio vulnificus. Fox 35 Orlando has the details, though the details are everywhere. Florida reports 2nd 'flesh-eating' bacteria death of 2026 as cases reach 14
People from the Northeast and the Midwest travel to Florida, and don't think about the fact that it might be different than where they live most of the year. The wildlife is different. The solar radiation is different (especially if you're on a boat). There are a lot of differences.
A Marion County resident between the ages of 60 and 74 has died after contracting a severe infection from Vibrio—a rare, naturally occurring bacteria often referred to as "flesh-eating." The victim's death is the second death in 14 reported cases of Vibrio vulnificus across the state this year.
Vibrio bacteria thrive in warm, brackish, or salt water and typically enter the body through an open wound. While cases are relatively rare, they can escalate rapidly. The state reported 33 cases and 5 deaths linked to Vibrio infections last year.
Marion County, Florida is about 15 miles south of Gainsville, about 35 miles due east of Daytona Beach, and about 40 miles northeast of Orlando.
This put me in mind of an omgitswicks video on the topic. Florida flesh eating bacteria
Don't even get me started on the Brain-Eating Amoebas. We'll talk about that another time.
If you are in salt water there are sharks, and flesh-eating bactera. And a handful of other predators. If you are in extreme South Florida, you might run into an American crocodile.
If you're in fresh water there are likely alligators. As omgitswicks says, "If water is wet, it probably got a gator in it."
As for the brain-eating amoeba, or Naegleria fowleri, That is found in warm fresh water, and not just in Florida. There is 97% fatality rate.
That doesn't include the fire ants, the spectacled caiman, The green anaconda, or Eunectes murinus, which can grow to 30 feet long and 1 foot in diameter, or the Burmese Python (Python molurus bivittatus).
