Hurricanes’ potentially deadly legacy: Flesh-eating bacteria
- Bacteria is floodwater primarily enters skin through cuts
- Open wounds in contact with floodwater poses biggest danger
- A quarter of those who contracted bacteria after Hurricane Ian died
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(NewsNation) — The water that Hurricane Milton leaves behind may be just as deadly as the winds and storm surge, according to infectious disease experts. Flesh-eating bacteria is out there and looking for a way into your body.
“Within the waters, we find this vibrio … it’s actually a bacteria. And bacteria can be ingested in the water,” said Dr. Norman Beatty, with the infectious diseases division at the University of Florida.
“Most of the time, what we see after a hurricane is we have volunteers or homeowners are out, and they are cleaning up the mess. They’re out in the storm surge waters. And that vibrio bacteria is penetrating through the skin. You step on a nail, slice your leg, you get an open wound and the bacteria gets in,” Beatty said.
Beatty told NewsNation’s “Banfield” that flesh-eating bacteria took quite a toll two years ago after Hurricane Ian.
“There were 38 confirmed cases right after the storm, and at least 11 people died,” he said.
