We have one confirmed case of the potentially deadly vibrio bacteria infecting a person in St Lucie County, but new research shows that avoiding the water completely out of fear of the bacteria is unnecessary.
Gabby Barbarite is a PhD candidate at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. Barbarite says that salt water kills the bacteria, which means your chances of getting the bacteria into your system at the beaches is extremely low. The bacteria thrives in the warm brackish water of the Indian River Lagoon and St Lucie River. Still, it’s not enough for the bacteria to just get on your skin. It needs a way into the body, like having an open cut on their skin.
What the FAU research shows here is good news. Most of us who swim at sandbars or islands will have contact with Vibrio and never get sick. And forget about being afraid to go in the water– still the number one way you get infected–is eating raw shellfish.
