ORANGE BEACH, AL – If you’re planning a beach trip this summer, doctors say there’s one more danger to know about — a rare bacteria in warm coastal waters that has already killed at least seven people along the Gulf Coast this year.
Vibrio vulnificus, commonly called “flesh-eating bacteria,” thrives in warm seawater and can enter the body through open wounds or from eating raw shellfish. Two people in Florida and five in Louisiana have died from the bacteria so far this year. Nationwide, the CDC says about one in five people infected with the bacteria die from it.
A Labor Day Scare at Alabama’s Orange Beach
Summerlin Skipworth knows how quickly a day at the beach can turn dangerous. She was spending Labor Day weekend last year at Orange Beach, Alabama, when she injured her foot against rocks along the shore.
“It felt like it was broken,” Skipworth said…