CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — A Pinellas County man shared his near-death experience after contracting Vibrio vulnificus, a flesh-eating bacteria.
This comes as the Florida Department of Health is warning people to avoid floodwaters, as cases of the infection continue to rise after back-to-back hurricanes.
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“What happens is that people tend to get exposed to the saltwater, so the bay or the Gulf of Mexico water, because they’re working around their places, or they’re exposed during the hurricane,” said Valerie J. Harwood, Associate Dean and Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida.
Peter Volpi Jr. never thought it could happen to him. The very active 68-year-old has spent his life being active and swimming in the gulf.
“I was like becoming disoriented, getting dizzy at the beach, stuff like that. I just didn’t think nothing of it,” said Volpi.
Volpi also noticed his stomach seemed to getting bigger, but he thought it was just weigh-gain.