Vibrio bacteria could be in Florida sargassum seaweed. How to prevent getting an infection

Headlines about flesh-eating bacteria in Florida is another reminder that the state just can’t have a quiet moment. Florida Atlantic University researchers discovered an intricate relationship between sargassum, microplastics and vibrio that creates the perfect condition for the bacteria to thrive.

Vibrio describes several species of bacteria that live in certain coastal waters. The most common species in the U.S. are vibrio parahaemolyticus, vibrio alginolyticus and the flesh-eating bacteria known as vibrio vulnificus.

The study, however, isn’t meant to incite panic. Instead, researchers say they want people, especially those that work in close proximity of the massive globs of seaweed piled up on Florida beaches, to exercise caution as the risks are explored.

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Here’s what you need to know about vibrio and flesh-eating bacteria.

Is vibrio in sargassum seaweed?

FAU researchers and collaborators fully sequenced the genomes of 16 Vibrio cultivars isolated from eel larvae, plastic marine debris, Sargassum, and seawater samples collected from the Caribbean and Sargasso seas of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Some cultivation-based data showed beached sargassum to contain "high amounts" of vibrio bacteria, according to the study.

What are vibrio bacteria?

Not all vibrio bacteria are of the flesh-eating variety. Vibrio is used to describe several species of comma-shaped bacteria in the Vibrionaceae family. The bacteria are commonly found in coastal waters and can cause human illness called vibriosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The most common species in the U.S. are vibrio parahaemolyticus, vibrio alginolyticus and the flesh-eating bacteria known as vibrio vulnificus.

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How can you get vibrio?

Eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters, is the most common way of becoming infected, according to the CDC. Some species can cause a skin infection when an open wound is exposed to salt water or brackish water, a mixture of fresh and salt water.

How is flesh-eating bacteria different from other vibrio?

The flesh-eating bacteria known as vibrio vulnificus is just one species of vibrio. It can be contracted by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, but open wounds are also subject to infection from vibrio vulnificus.

Vibrio vulnificus is a rare disease and most healthy individuals may only develop a mild form of the disease, according to the Florida Department of Health. However, those with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for of bacterium invading the blood stream, causing severe and life-threatening illness.

Bloodstream infections tend to be fatal about 50% of the time, according to the FDOH.

The disease can cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, but some infections may also lead to skin breakdown and ulcers, according to FDOH. These infections can further lead to necrotizing fasciitis, which the CDC says is a severe infection where the flesh around an open wound “dies.”

It’s important to note that vibrio vulnificus isn’t the only type of bacteria that can cause necrotizing fasciitis.

Vibrio vulnificus is treated with antibiotics, but severe cases may require intensive care or limb amputations.

How to prevent vibrio infection

Here's how the CDC recommends reducing your risk of vibriosis:

• Don’t eat raw or undercooked oysters or other shellfish. Cook them before eating.

• Wash your hands with soap and water after handing raw shellfish.

• Avoid contaminating cooked shellfish with raw shellfish and its juices.

• Stay out of salt water or brackish water if you have a wound (including from a recent surgery, piercing or tattoo), or cover your wound with a waterproof bandage if there’s a possibility it could come into contact with salt water or brackish water, raw seafood, or raw seafood juices.

• Wash wounds and cuts thoroughly with soap and water if they have been exposed to seawater or raw seafood or its juices.

• If you develop a skin infection, tell your medical provider if your skin has come into contact with salt water or brackish water, raw seafood, or raw seafood juices.

How common is vibriosis?

CDC estimates that vibriosis causes 80,000 illnesses each year in the United States. About 52,000 of these illnesses are estimated to be the result of eating contaminated food.

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How serious is vibriosis?

A mild case of vibriosis typically lasts about three days, according to the CDC. However, people with a Vibrio vulnificus infection can get seriously ill and need intensive care or limb amputation. About one in five people with this type of infection die, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill.

While most cases of vibriosis are mild, the CDC estimates that infections are responsible for about 100 deaths in the U.S. each year.

Vibriosis symptoms

Vibrio bacteria can cause the following symptoms:

• Watery diarrhea

• Abdominal cramping

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Fever

• Chills

These symptoms typically occur within 24 hours of ingestion and last about three days.

Symptoms of vibrio vulnificus are similar but also include:

• Dangerously low blood pressure and blistering skin in bloodstream infections

• Redness, pain, swelling, warmth, discoloration and discharge in wound infections

How is vibriosis diagnosed?

Infection is diagnosed when vibrio bacteria are found in the stool, wound or blood of a patient who has symptoms of vibriosis.

How is vibriosis treated?

The CDC says treatment isn't necessary in mild cases, but encourages drinking plenty of liquids to combat dehydration.

Patients infected with vibrio vulnificus are treated with antibiotics, and in some cases, doctors may need to amputate appendages to remove dead or infected tissue.

Flesh-eating bacteria in Florida

Florida had a record-breaking number of cases and deaths last year after Hurricane Ian made landfall in September. There were a total of 74 cases and 17 deaths, according to FDOH.

Those numbers don't tell a complete story, however. Flood waters and standing waters following a hurricane often create conditions ripe for infections as these bacteria thrive in warm, brackish seawater and grow faster during warmer months.

And official data regarding vibrio vulnificus infections only date back to 2007. FDOH says that the disease is rare and underreported, and says that the CDC received around 900 infections from Gulf Coast states between 1988 and 2006.

In 2007, the CDC collaborated with Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi to begin monitoring the cases.

What is sargassum seaweed?

Sargassum is a species of large brown seaweed, a type of macroalgae that floats in large masses.

On some beaches in Florida, the "blobs" of crunchy, dry, brown stinky seaweed are fairly large. In one of our photo galleries below, you'll see a small "mountain" of sargassum seaweed, and a black dog posing next to it. It's in the water, on the shore, surrounding beachgoers who just want to play in the sand.

When is 'seaweed season' in Florida?

Sargassum seaweed tends to appear in Florida beaches in the spring, with a peak in June.

Seaweed 'blobs' in Florida. Is sargassum dangerous to humans?

In the water, sargassum is considered harmless to people.

On land, sargassum begins to rot and produces smelly hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, which can irritate eyes, ears, and noses. People with asthma or other breathing illnesses may have trouble breathing if they inhale too much of it.

In open areas like beaches, however, moving air usually dilutes the gas to non-harmful levels.

The seaweed also contains tiny sea creatures, such as jellyfish larvae, that can irritate your skin on contact.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Vibrio vulnificus: What to know about bacteria if you live in Florida