Yet another death from Vibrio has been reported this year, bringing the total tally in 2026 up to five, according to the Florida Department of Health.
In its latest report, the FDOH revealed that a Pinellas County resident was the latest to die from the rare bacterial infection.
Other deaths in Florida this year were reported out of Bay, Broward, Marion and Palm Beach counties, the report reveals.
State officials have broken down the total number of reported cases by county this year:
| County | No. of Cases (2026) |
|---|---|
| Bay | 2 |
| Brevard | 1 |
| Broward | 2 |
| Duval | 1 |
| Hillsborough | 1 |
| Lee | 2 |
| Marion | 2 |
| Miami-Dade | 2 |
| Okaloosa | 1 |
| Palm Beach | 2 |
| Pinellas | 1 |
| Polk | 2 |
| St. Johns | 1 |
| Santa Rosa | 3 |
| TOTAL | 23 |
WHAT IS VIBRIO VULNIFICUS?
Per the FDOH, Vibrio vulnificus is a bacteria that naturally occurs in warm, brackish seawater, with most people getting vibriosis by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters.
“That particular one can get pretty aggressive,” said Dr. Daniel Egan, an infectious disease physician at Orlando Health. “Fortunately, cases are rare, but we always see upticks in cases around this time of year.”
Residents and visitors in the Sunshine State frequently swim in the summer, leading to upticks in reported cases.
Dr. Egan says even the smallest cut gives Vibrio a way into your body. A tiny nick from shaving. A blister from a sandal. A scrape on a rock. All of it counts.
“It starts off where the wound itself gets more red, gets more painful, redness starts to spread beyond the wound itself,” Egan said. “And then, it can progress even to what people call flesh-eating bacteria.”
Waterborne infections like this tend to move fast; the incubation window is between 24 hours and a few days, Dr. Egan said.
For more information on vibrio infections and how to prevent them, visit the FDOH website here.