With over a dozen cases of flesh-eating bacteria reported in Florida this year, a woman is speaking out about her recovery from the rare infection. Genevieve Gallagher said she’s lucky to be alive after contracting the life-altering infection. “This will turn your life upside down. I mean, I lost so much of my left leg below my kneecap. It’s unbelievable the amount of trauma that I’ve been through,” said Gallagher. Last July, Gallagher said she became infected with vibrio vulnificus while out on the water with her 8-year-old daughter and husband, but the symptoms didn’t kick in until days later. “I did have a cut when we went boating. By Wednesday, that’s when everything started to go downhill,” she said. Health experts say getting this infection is rare. “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,” said Dr. Autumn Barnes with Health First. According to the Florida Department of Health, there have been 14 cases across the state this year. Doctors say a good rule of thumb is to stay out of the water if you have any open cut, no matter how big or small. Gallagher said her experience has taught her new lessons before heading out on the water. “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,” she said. Now, she hopes others take her message to heart. “It’s very serious. You can lose your life. It’s just not worth it,” said Gallagher. With infections on the rise, researchers at the University of Florida are trying to develop an artificial intelligence technology that can predict where the bacteria will be next. The goal is to launch the system within about a year and a half. ...read more read less