Vibrio vulnificus is having a hot bacteria summer, sadly. Two more people have died after becoming sick from eating Louisiana oysters that, unfortunately, carried the "flesh-eating" bacteria. The deaths were announced this week at a Louisiana Oyster Task Force meeting held in New Orleans. NBC News quotes the Louisiana Department of Health, which explains that many people with Vibrio vulnificus infection "can become seriously ill and need intensive care or limb amputation." The department further states, "About one in five people with this infection dies, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill."
WBRZ Baton Rouge provides further details about the recent oyster deaths and the surge of Vibrio vulnificus occurring in Louisiana this year:
A state health official said that the two deaths happened after people ate oysters harvested in Louisiana at two separate restaurants — one in Louisiana and another in Florida.
Jennifer Armentor, molluscan shellfish program administrator from the Louisiana Department of Health, added that 14 more people have been infected.
Now, 34 people have been infected and six people have died in 2025 alone, a higher rate than any previous year over the last decade.
"It's just prolific right now," Armentor told the Louisiana Oyster Task Force on Tuesday at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.
Vibrio vulnificus naturally occurs in warm coastal waters and is more prevalent in the time period between May and October. So you really should avoid eating raw oysters and other raw seafood from coastal waters during those warmer months. Most Louisiana locals I know steer clear of raw oysters until the weather cools down, and they're clearly onto something. Since you can also get infected with Vibrio vulnificus through swimming in coastal waters with open wounds, you should probably avoid that too. Given all of the news about Vibrio vulnificus infections recently, I think I might be done with raw oysters for good. Check back with me when the weather cools down, though. Stay safe out there, folks!
Previously:
• Flesh-eating bacteria now in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
• 'High amounts' of flesh-eating bacteria and ocean plastics create 'perfect pathogen storm' in Florida seaweed
• Flesh eating bacteria increasingly common at America's beaches
