Overview

• Eleven Vibrio vulnificus infections, including four fatalities, have been confirmed in Bay, Broward, Hillsborough and St. Johns counties so far in 2025.
• The bacterium thrives in warm saltwater and brackish water and can infect through open skin wounds or by consuming raw or undercooked shellfish.
• Bloodstream involvement carries about a 50 percent fatality rate and contributes to the infection’s overall one-in-five death rate.
• Historically, late-season hurricanes have driven case spikes by pushing saltwater inland and flooding freshwater sources.
• Climate-driven sea temperature rises are expected to expand Vibrio vulnificus’s seasonal range and increase future health and economic impacts.