St. Johns River tests positive for flesh-eating bacteria

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville University recently tested the St. Johns River for bacteria, and now have the results.

JU used DNA testing to find that 4 out of 6 sites tested positive for vibrios.  Three of the sites tested positive for potentially pathogenic Vibrio species.

Two of the sampling locations tested positive for Vibrio vulnificus, a kind of flesh eating bacteria.

A third site tested positive for both Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which can cause gastrointestinal illness.

A fourth site tested positive for vibrio, but not any of the three pathogenic kinds.

Professor Anthony Oullette says, “It is important to understand that these microbes are normal components of  marine bacterial  communities and that this study alone should not be a cause for alarm.”

WJAX