Teen swam with scrape on his leg
Two new cases of Vibrio vulnificus, the so-called “flesh‑eating” bacteria tied to warm coastal waters and raw oysters, have been reported in Okaloosa and Palm Beach counties, according to state health data. That brings the 2026 total to eight so far this year.
In Niceville in Okaloosa County, a 17-year-old boy was hospitalized after swimming with a scrape on his leg at Lion’s Park on June 1. After his mother found him moaning in pain and burning with fever two days later, Joziah Thompson was immediately started on powerful antibiotics and rushed into emergency surgery to cut out the swollen, affected tissue…