Filthy floodwaters from Hurricane Ian drove wave of flesh-eating infections

Enlarge / A resident of Gulf Air mobile home park walks through floodwaters from Hurricane Ian through her neighborhood near Fort Myers Beach on September 29. Getty | The Washington Post

In the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Ian, some of Florida’s hardest-hit areas are facing a new threat—a wave of flesh-eating bacterial infections that can crest in sewage-contaminated floodwaters.

In the weeks since the natural disaster, authorities in Florida’s Lee County—which surrounds Fort Myers—have seen a surge in potentially life-threatening Vibrio vulnificus infections. The bacteria are known to lurk in warm coastal waters, but fester amid pollution, particularly sewage spills.

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