PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A patient aged 80 to 84 was the first to die this year in Florida of a confirmed Vibrio vulnificus, better known as the “flesh-eating bacteria,” infection, according to the Florida Department of Health’s data on Thursday.

The death was in Palm Beach County. There have been 12 more infections statewide so far this year, including two more in Palm Beach and two in Miami-Dade County, according to the FDOH’s data.

The other eight cases were in Bay, Hillsborough, Lee, Marion, Okaloosa, Polk, and St. Johns counties, according to the FDOH. Last year, there were five deaths and 33 cases.

Eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters, and swimming in marine waters with an open wound increases the risk of exposure to the bacteria, according to the FDOH.

People with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk of severe and life-threatening illness with symptoms such as fever, chills, septic shock, and blistering skin lesions, according to the FDOH.

FDOH data

‘Flesh-eating’ bacteria infections in Florida: 1 dead, 12 confirmed cases, health officials report

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Andrea Torres