Dangerous bacteria found thriving in famed Sydney Harbor

When swimming in Australia's most famous harbor, take caution as there could be a pathogenic marine bacteria around you which causes more deaths each year than sharks, the nation's scientists warned on Wednesday.

High concentrations of two Vibrio bacteria species have been found in the warmest parts of Sydney Harbor, one of the Australia's most densely populated and heavily used waterways, and also in less salty areas deeper inside the estuary.

Though the Vibrio bacteria causes cholera, the strain found in Sydney Harbor instead causes gastrointestinal illness through the consumption of contaminated seafood as well as flesh eating infections in swimmers with open wounds.