Florida Seaweed Could Contain Deadly Flesh-Eating Virus

A massive collection of seaweed approaching the Florida coast has raised concerns over the presence of potentially harmful flesh-eating bacteria, as indicated by a study conducted by Florida Atlantic University.

The findings, published in the journal “Water Research,” highlight that the enormous clump, spanning approximately 5,000 miles, consists of sargassum seaweed along with floating plastic. Researchers have discovered that this seaweed cluster can harbor various species of Vibrio bacteria, some of which can be detrimental to human health.

The study further reveals that beached sargassum seaweed contains significant concentrations of these bacteria. Moreover, the bacteria can attach themselves to marine plastic debris, which accumulates extensively within the mass of seaweed.