Vibrio Vulnificus Symptoms Infect 31 In Florida [VIDEO]; Flesh Eating Bacteria Can Cause Septic Shock; One Man's Account Of Contracting The Deadly Infection - And Survivng

Vibrio Vulnificus symptoms have infected 31 people in Florida.  
Vibrio Vulnificus is a flesh eating bacteria that lives in saltwater and can cause symptoms such as septic shock.  Vibrio Vulnificus can be contracted either through eating raw shellfish, or through contact with an open wound.  
Other symptoms of Vibrio Vulnificus include vomiting, diarrhea, and blistering dermatitis.
While Vibrio Vulnificus symptoms can be very deadly, it is much more likely to infect the bloodstream of people with chronic health conditions.
One man, Richard Garey, went through Vibrio Vulnificus symptoms and lived.  He gashed his foot in Grand Isle, Louisiana, and contracted the infection.
Garey said that at first he just felt rough, but "then it hit that critical mass where things went south very quickly. It's eating your flesh and the toxins it releases in doing so are what overloads your system."
Watch Vibrio Vulnificus Symptoms Video Here:

"I was on the edge. I was kind of in that world, and kind of outta that world...The nurse was saying 'Don't go, don't go, keep fighting,'" he says. "I felt like I had just two heartbeats left in me."

The Vibrio Vulnificus symptoms almost necessitated extreme measure: "They told me if it had been another three to four hours, they would have had to take my leg off."

"Who knew this could happen," he said. "I've been in those marshes thousands of times, over 45 years, and a bacteria I'd never heard of came along and put me in this life-or-death fight."

Dr. James Oliver, a professor of biology at the University of North Carolina Charlotte and the world's foremost expert on Vibrio Vulnificus, cautions that people don't need to panic over the flesh eating bacteria: "The last thing we want to do, though, is make people think that if they go to the beach they're going to die.  Look how many people go to the beach in a year, and look how many people fall victim to this in a year. It's easy math."