Genevieve Gallagher from Pensacola, Florida, has issued a warning to swimmers after a tiny cut on her leg led to a life-threatening infection with Vibrio vulnificus, commonly known as the “flesh-eating” bacteria, resulting in the loss of her leg.
How the infection happened
Genevieve was on a boating trip with her family in July 2025 when the horror struck while swimming. The bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, lives naturally in warm or brackish water where freshwater and seawater mix. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, cramping and diarrhoea. The bacteria can be dangerous if it enters an open cut, scrape or fresh tattoo, triggering necrotising fasciitis where tissue rapidly dies.
In some cases, this requires emergency surgery or even amputation. It can also cause sepsis and bloodstream infections, which are fatal in roughly one in five cases, sometimes within one to two days.
Organ failure and amputation
Speaking to Fox 35, Genevieve said: "Every organ in my body began to fail. I went septic. I was intubated for six days, almost lost my life." She stated she "woke up and a lot of my leg was missing at the bottom."
Speaking to KKTV, Genevieve spoke of the long-term effects: "This will turn your life upside-down. I lost so much of my left leg below my kneecap; it's unbelievable the amount of trauma I've been through."
Warning to swimmers
Genevieve urged people to think twice about swimming in open water if they have a small cut or open wound. She stated: "If you have any open cuts at all, like mosquito bites that are open you've scratched. Do not shave the night before you go in the water."
She added: "Just anything. It's so serious and you can get it. You can get it. So do not take that chance [with] your life."
Risks in UK waters
In a previous study, the Met Office used data to identify locations where summer sea-surface temperatures were favourable for Vibrio bacteria, based on average number of days per year warmer than 18°C. Dr Sariqa Wagley, of the University of Exeter, said: "Vibrio species can often be found in UK waters in summer, when temperatures are more favourable for them."
"With sea-surface temperatures rising due to climate change, Vibrio activity in the waters is more common, and the diversity of Vibrio species is now increasing." Dr Wagley added: "We found Vibrio parahaemolyticus – the leading cause of seafood-borne gastroenteritis worldwide – at Chichester Harbour. Vibrio alginolyticus, which can also cause illness in humans, was identified at three of the sites that had sea-surface temperatures above 18°C (Chichester Harbour, Osea Island and Whitstable Bay)."
She noted that thorough cooking kills harmful Vibrio bacteria in seafood, but "increasing abundance and diversity of Vibrio bacteria creates health risks not only for people eating seafood, but for those using the sea for recreation purposes – either due to swallowing infected seawater or from the bacteria entering exposed wounds or cuts."
