Nervous beach-goers may be on red alert for signs of jellyfish and sharks lurking in US waters this summer. 

But doctors and marine biologists say people should be just as concerned about a threat they can’t see.

Dangerous bacteria, some of which eat the body from the inside out, lurk in the sand, ocean water, rivers, and lakes, latching on to open cuts or accidentally being swallowed.  Effects of swallowing these bugs in sea or lake water can range in severity from nausea and diarrhea — to lethal sepsis, coma, limb amputation and, in worst cases, death. 

And while many types used to be contained to Southeastern states and along the Gulf of Mexico, in recent years they’ve been spreading to waters all over the country.   For instance, the deadly flesh-eating vibrio vulnificus bacteria has, over the past year, been detected at beaches up and down the Eastern seaboard; off the coast of Long Island, in Connecticut, at beaches and shellfish restaurants in Florida, and more.

This is because the rise of global temperatures, which raise water temperatures, has created a more hospitable environment for harmful bacteria like vibrio and Staphylococcus aureus, allowing them to survive for longer periods of time in places they’ve never lived before.

Below, DailyMail.com highlights the dangerous organisms that could infect you the next time you walk barefoot on a pool deck or jump into a lake without bandaging even the smallest of cuts and scrapes.

THE FLESH-EATING BACTERIA INVADING THE EAST COAST 

V. vulnificus causes necrotizing fasciitis – essentially eating you from the inside out and rotting the flesh.

It thrives in warm sea waters and in the mixture of fresh and saltwater found where rivers and oceans meet.

People with open wounds can be exposed to the bacteria while swimming in the ocean or handling raw seafood.

Vibriosis, the infection that results from exposure to the bacteria, can also result from eating raw or undercooked shellfish. Infection through that route does not rot the flesh, but it can cause sepsis, a potentially fatal condition that occurs when an infection has entered the bloodstream.

Once the bacteria enters a wound, it can multiply at breakneck speed, causing direct damage to cells. It produces a variety of enzymes and toxins that break down proteins, fats, and collagen, leading to the destruction of skin and muscle tissue.

It does this while evading the body’s immune system and resisting immune cells’ attempts to destroy it.

The bacteria trigger a whole-body inflammatory response, which leads to further tissue damage. This damage is compounded by the disrupted blood supply to the infected area, resulting in the death of tissue under the skin.

The deadly bacteria sickened 11 people in just three states on the East Coast last summer, and five of them died. There were seven infections in North Carolina, two in New York and two in Connecticut all during a record-breaking heat wave.

The changing climate has a direct impact on the bacteria’s survival and its ability to infect unsuspecting water sports enthusiasts. 

Approximately 80,000 cases of vibriosis are diagnosed in the US each year, and about 52,000 of those cases are a result of eating contaminated seafood.

One of those cases was South Carolinian Brent Norman, who on his daily walk on the beach stepped on contaminated sea shells that resulted in severe foot swelling. 

The flesh around his heel appeared blistered, red and swollen, which led him to go to the doctor who later confirmed he had contracted V. vulnificus from contact with the water. 

Norman told ABC4 News the pain was ‘as if someone had driven… a nail through my foot.’

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