As a kid, I spent summers at the Jersey Shore playing on the beach and body surfing in the ocean. It was fun and healthy—except for the annual pain from sunburn. (Back then, skin cancer awareness wasn’t really a thing.)
I believed the ocean had healing powers because that’s what my parents told me. Any cut, scrape, or blister—and there were plenty—was exposed to saltwater. Our mother always preached, “Take off the Band-Aid and play in the ocean. It’ll heal faster.” I took that childhood wisdom and filed it in my adult first-aid kit.
Then came the wake-up call.
I moved to Florida’s Gulf Coast in 1984 to take a news reporting job at a local TV station. That first summer, a story broke about a man infected with what was called “a rare flesh-eating bacteria.” It sounded like something from a Hollywood horror movie. No one had ever heard of it.
Another JAWS summer.
He had been swimming in the Gulf with an open wound. It became infected. Though antibiotics stopped the spread, doctors had to amputate a limb to save his life.
Fast forward to 2025.
What was once rare now feels alarmingly routine. So far this summer, Florida has reported 11 confirmed cases of Vibrio vulnificus—the scientific name for flesh-eating bacteria. Four people have died. And summer is only halfway over. Based on recent trends, things may get worse.
Florida saw a spike in 2024 after torrential rains from two hurricanes dumped stormwater runoff into the Gulf, turning it into a petri dish. When the Gulf hits 90 degrees—which is typical in peak summer—bacteria thrive. That year: 82 cases. 19 deaths. Death can come fast, often within 48 hours of infection.
This isn’t just a Florida problem.
Other Gulf Coast states are reporting infections—and fatalities. Some beaches now post signs warning of contaminated water. Beyond the Southeast, a brutal heatwave in 2023 led to 7 deaths in mid-Atlantic beach states from Vibrio infections.
And the Pacific Coast, with its colder water, isn’t immune. California and Washington recently issued health advisories warning of elevated Vibrio levels at local beaches during the July 4th weekend.
You don’t even have to swim.
Just walking or wading with an open wound can be enough for the bacteria to enter your body. We’re clearly in different times than when I was a kid. Back then, the ocean was carefree.
Now, it’s complicated. More people are in the water than ever before, thanks to booming beachfront development. Climate change is warming oceans and fueling more intense hurricanes, which dump contaminated stormwater into coastal waters.
Gee, I wish I were a kid again—when the ocean felt like a cure, not a risk.
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