Fox News – Two people have died after eating oysters contaminated with flesh-eating bacteria, health officials confirmed, and others have been infected.
Both of the fatal cases were traced to Louisiana-harvested oysters that ended up on plates in restaurants in Louisiana and Florida.
The bacterium, Vibrio vulnificus, has now been linked to six deaths in Louisiana and five deaths in Florida, according to the states’ health departments.
The rising number of outbreaks prompted the Louisiana Department of Health to issue a statement July 31, urging residents to take precautions against vibriosis, the infection caused by Vibrio vulnificus.
Vibrio vulnificus is part of a wider group of Vibrio bacteria, which are found in coastal waters, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states.
Vibrio has the potential to cause severe infections, according to Dr. Andrew Handel, pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital in New York.
These include invasive soft tissue infections (sometimes called “necrotizing fasciitis” or “flesh-eating bacteria”) and bloodstream infections.
Most people get vibriosis by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters, according to the CDC.
In some cases, it can also enter open wounds while people are swimming.
Prior to this incident, health officials reported 17 cases of Vibrio vulnificus among Louisiana residents in 2025. All patients were hospitalized, and four of those illnesses resulted in death.
Over the previous 10 years, an average of seven Vibrio vulnificus cases and one death were reported each year in Louisiana.
“It’s just prolific right now,” Jennifer Armentor, the molluscan shellfish program administrator at the Louisiana Department of Health, told the Louisiana Oyster Task Force …
