Authorities in Mississippi this week warned beachgoers about the dangers of a potentially deadly bacteria that has left at least seven people in Florida and Louisiana dead in 2026.
Mississippi Department of Health officials on Monday said that people should “be on guard to protect themselves from Vibrio bacteria,” namely Vibrio vulnficus, which is often described as a “flesh-eating bacteria” in media reports.
The bacteria, which live in warm coastal waters, often causes gastrointestinal symptoms as well as septic shock and necrotizing fasciitis—a quickly spreading infection that can destroy tissue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The organism causes gastrointestinal symptoms along with septic shock and necrotizing fasciitis, which is a fast-moving infection that destroys tissue and blood vessels beneath the skin. …