In Brief:
- 🦠 A Niceville teen contracted Vibrio vulnificus, a potentially deadly flesh-eating bacteria, after swimming at Lions Park.
- 🏥 Joziah Thompson contracted the bacteria through a minor cut on his leg.
- ⚠️ His family is calling for Okaloosa County to notify the public about bacteria levels in bay waters.
This is a developing story that Mid Bay News will continue to cover as information is released.
What should have been a relaxing day turned disastrous for one Niceville family after 17-year-old Joziah Thompson was hospitalized for Vibrio vulnificus, a flesh-eating bacteria he contracted in the water at Lions Park, on Wednesday.
Tirzah Thompson, Joziah’s mother, said she sent her children to swim at Lions Park on Monday, June 1, an activity they’d done before. Two days later, Joziah reported body aches and pain that left him incapacitated.
“Last Monday they played in the water, came home, didn’t see anything, no indications,” Tirzah said. “Tuesday, he woke up, he was fine before I headed up to my spa. Well Wednesday, I went to work as usual. … I got off work mid-Wednesday afternoon and Joziah was just in fetal position on the couch saying his body hurt, he was hot, he was cold and his leg was really hurting him.”
The Thompsons took Joziah to Twin Cities Hospital where he was rushed to the Studer Family Children’s Hospital in Pensacola. After testing, doctors confirmed Joziah contracted Vibrio vulnificus through a minor cut on the front of his leg. Joziah underwent multiple surgeries to remove the affected tissue, and is still recovering under medical care, his mother said.
According to the Florida Department of Health, Vibrio vulnificus is a natural bacteria mainly contracted by eating raw or undercooked shellfish — though it is sometimes found in brackish water. If infected, individuals could develop mild illness. However, in serious cases, the bacteria invades the bloodstream, causing a 50% fatality rate.
Tirzah said she believes Okaloosa County needs to do more to protect the community from the disease.
“Why is it — especially if we’re talking to the dangerousness of this thing, why is there not an app or something that alerts parents and beachgoers and tourists and whatnot of the bacterial levels of the water, even the fact that there is bacteria levels?” Tirzah said. “Because what’s funny is the moment I posted on social media for prayers and public awareness, I have been inundated and flooded with accounts of other people going through the same thing. … Why not have a team of people somewhere who go out and test these waterways, send out the information or upload it to an app?”
Tirzah said online commenters told her they’ve always known the bay water is unsanitary, but she never heard warnings from local government.
“I can’t sit here and say folks don’t know about it, especially when I’m hearing people who have been here for 30, 40-something years and the general consensus is, well, everybody knows not to get in that water. Where are the signs in the park? I guess there was one at one point, but anytime I’ve been down there with my kids, I never saw a sign saying ‘Enter at your own risk’ or anything like that. People know, it’s just one of those small-town things that I guess it just is what it is.”
To avoid infection from Vibrio, the FDOH recommends to “avoid exposure of open wounds or broken skin to warm salt or brackish water, or to raw shellfish harvested from such waters.”
Okaloosa County has not reported a confirmed case of Vibrio vulnificus in Niceville, and the Okaloosa branch of the FDOH could not be reached for comment. Mid Bay News confirmed Joziah’s diagnosis via an official note from Nemours Children’s Health.To help the Thompson family with Joziah’s medical expenses, donate to their GoFundMe.
