‘Pathogen storm’ of flesh-eating bacteria invading Florida beachesBy Alex Mitchell
May 30, 2023
Maybe New York isn’t so bad after all.
Beaches in sunny South Florida are experiencing “the perfect pathogen storm” of flesh-eating bacteria that are washing up on shore, according to new research from Florida Atlantic University.
It’s happening due to a brown and smelly algae known as sargassum, which is intertwining with plastic marine debris and a bacteria called Vibrio. FAU describes the latter as “the dominant cause of death in humans from the marine environment.”
“Our lab work showed that these Vibrio are extremely aggressive and can seek out and stick to plastic within minutes. We also found that there are attachment factors that microbes use to stick to plastics, and it is the same kind of mechanism that pathogens use,” said lead author Tracy Mincer.
“I don’t think at this point, anyone has really considered these microbes and their capability to cause infections.”
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/05/30/pathogen-storm-of-flesh-eating-bacteria-invades-fl-beaches/