Woman who lost part of leg to flesh-eating bacteria warns others as more cases are reported

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (WESH) – Florida has reported more than a dozen cases of a flesh-eating bacteria this year.

Doctors say it is a rare infection, but Genevieve Gallagher, who contracted the bacteria last year, said she is lucky to be alive.

“This will turn your life upside-down,” Gallagher said. “I lost so much of my left leg below my kneecap, it’s unbelievable the amount of trauma I’ve been through.”

Last July, Gallagher contracted what’s called Vibrio vulnificus while out on the water with her 8-year-old daughter and husband.

Gallagher didn’t realize it until days later.

“I did have a cut when we went boating,” Gallagher said. “By Wednesday is when everything started to go downhill.”

According to the Florida Department of Health, there have been 14 cases in the state this year.

Brevard County’s only case involved a child between 10 and 14. Marion County has had two cases, including one that was deadly. Polk County has had one case.

Dr. Autumn Barnes, a family medicine physician with Health First, said this is a rare infection.

“You can get exposed to this in two ways. One is undercooked or raw shellfish, especially oysters, and the other is exposing an open wound to these warm, saltwater, brackish waters,” Barnes said.

A good rule of thumb is to stay out of the water with any kind of open cut, no matter how big or small.

“Going to the beach for a day of fun is not worth it. If you have a cut on your leg, a mosquito bite that you scratched and it’s open, if you shaved your legs before you are going to the beach the next day, you are leaving those little microscopic openings for this bacteria to make its way in,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher hopes her message can save someone else.

“It’s very serious. You can lose your life. It’s just not worth it,” Gallagher said.