What bacteria is in the Florida beaches 2023?

Five people are confirmed dead in the Tampa Bay area due to a rare, flesh-eating bacteria in the waters. According to Florida Health, Vibrio vulnificus is a bacterium that naturally occurs in warm, brackish seawater and requires salt. This year, there have been 25 reported cases and five deaths since January 2023.



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Since 2011, 2023 still ranks in the top half of the worst sargassum seaweed seasons. With the latest data, USF researchers say in June, sargassum will likely decrease in the Gulf of Mexico, meaning beachgoers may not have such a smelly experience. The USF lab forecasts the decrease to continue through August.

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Florida's rainy summer and the recent storm make some beaches more treacherous to swim in because of higher levels of fecal contamination. People who come into contact with contaminated water can experience gastrointestinal illness, ear and eye infections, and skin rashes.

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Eighty-four percent of Gulf Coast beaches, 70% of West Coast beaches, and 63% of the Great Lakes reached these potentially unsafe levels at least once in 2022.

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Eighty-four percent of Gulf Coast beaches, 70% of West Coast beaches, and 63% of the Great Lakes reached these potentially unsafe levels at least once in 2022. A tool on the Environment America website shows state-by-state data if you want to see how your local beaches stack up.

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USF reports it remains difficult to predict exact timing and location for individual beaching events but substantial amounts of the seaweed are expected in May in both the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. June is forecast to be the likely peak of the 2023 season, but impacts are expected to continue into July.

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In Mexico, sargassum seaweed season is generally between May and October each year. If you travel to the Caribbean coast of Mexico outside of that time period you can generally avoid large mats of seaweed on the beaches. Cancun to Tulum seaweed map in March 2022.

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Another potential source of illness includes some types of cyanobacteria that form algal “blooms” (discolored water) and the toxins they produce. When people are exposed to cyanotoxins, they may have hay fever-like symptoms, skin rashes, sore throat, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or even kidney or liver damage.

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What South Florida beaches tested unsafe?
  • ? South Beach in Key West tested unsafe 68% of the time.
  • ? Higgs Beach in Key West tested unsafe 46% of the time.
  • ? Dubois Park in Jupiter tested unsafe 22% of the time.
  • ? North Shore Ocean Terrace in Miami Beach tested unsafe 18% of the time.


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However due to ocean currents, the amount of seaweed landing on beaches in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico in June and July 2023 was lower than expected. There's more good news! The sargassum seaweed forecast for September 2023 is minimal seaweed in the Caribbean Sea.

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2023 is shaping up to be a banner year for sargassum, a type of brown macroalgae now starting to wash up on beaches across the Caribbean. The thick dead tangled heaps of seaweed stink like rotten eggs and could cost many millions in holiday revenues this summer.

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Bits of Sargassum seaweed are washing ashore around Avenida 16-18 on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Giant blobs of Sargassum hug the shoreline next to the William O Lockhart Municipal Pier in Lake Worth Beach, Florida on June 1, 2023. Sargassum accumulates on the beach at Phipps Ocean Park Tuesday May 30, 2023 in Palm Beach.

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While exposed eastern shores are most likely to get hit by surges of sargassum, some beaches in Mexico have no sargassum. This includes Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo and Cozumel's western shore. They're generally seaweed-free.

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Atlantic Beaches (North to South)
  • Jacksonville Beach (surfguru.com)
  • St. Augustine Beach (surfstationcam)
  • Flagler Beach Pier.
  • Ormond by the Sea.
  • Daytona Beach.
  • New Smyrna Beach.
  • Cocoa Beach (Jetty Park)
  • Cocoa Beach.


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Additionally, beaches on Florida's east coast, including Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and the Miami Beach area, are also seeing mounds of sargassum wash ashore. According to a report from AccuWeather, it is also impacting the southern regions of Hispaniola as well as areas of Jamaica and Puerto Rico.

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Kamilo Beach, located on the south-eastern tip of Hawaii's Big Island, has been dubbed one of the most plastic-polluted spots on the planet.

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Manzanita Beach in Oregon, Fairhope Public Beach in Alabama, and Santa Monica Pier in California are among the dirtiest and most polluted beaches in America.

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