A flesh-eating bacteria found in coastal waters has led to the deaths of five Louisiana residents this year amid a summer time surge.
Louisiana health officials are urging beachgoers to take precautions against Vibrio vulnificus, the deadliest species of Vibrio bacteria, which can cause severe and life-threatening infections resulting in gastrointestinal illness, wound infections or blood poisoning.
About one in five people with Vibrio vulnificus infection dies, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill.
Vibrio vulnificus can cause serious and potentially life-threatening infections. Getty Images
The bacteria is found in coastal waters and is present in higher numbers from May through October, when water temperatures are warmer, according to the CDC.
According to a press release from Louisiana Department of Health, nine cases have been reported so far in 2026, all of which required hospitalization. During the same period over the previous 10 years, Louisiana reported an average of seven cases and one death.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Vibrio vulnificus as the surge continues.
How do people get Vibrio vulnificus?
Vibrio vulnificus is most often contracted by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters, the CDC reports.
Infection can also occur when an open wound such as an unhealed cut or scrape, recent piercing or tattoo, comes in contact with coastal waters. These include salt water and brackish water, a mixture of salt and fresh water. The bacteria is often found where rivers meet the ocean.
Florida historically reports the most Vibrio vulnificus cases in the US, with hurricanes and other sever weather increasing exposure risk from floodwaters and standing water. Florida has reported 14 cases and 2 deaths this year, compared with 33 cases and five deaths last year.
In 2025, Basil Kennedy, 77, fell ill after he scraped his leg on a boat trailer. He cleaned and bandaged the wound and never entered the water, but was hospitalized when his health suddenly and sharply declined, Fox 8 Live reported.
“His leg started to slowly swell,” his daughter told Fox 8 Live. “Then, it became a little bit red, and it was like, ‘OK, something’s not right here.’ But then, once it really took hold in the leg, I mean we were just watching it swell, blister, fluid — everything you expect from the flesh-eating bacteria.”
Kennedy died three days after the incident.
Anyone can get Vibrio vulnificus, but severe cases are highest among elderly people and people who:
Have liver disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV or thalassemia
Receive immune-suppressing therapy for the treatment of disease
Take medicine that reduces stomach acid
Have recently undergone stomach surgery
Vibrio Vulnificus infections are more common during the warmer months, when bacteria levels in coastal waters increase. Getty Images/iStockphoto
What are the symptoms?
Common signs of Vibrio vulnificus include watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills.
Signs of a wound infection include fever, redness, drainage or discharge, skin discoloration, pain, swelling or warmth around the wound.
Signs of bloodstream infection include fever, chills dangerously low blood pressure and blistering skin lesions.
How is it treated?
Antibiotics are not recommended to treat mild infections, according to the CDC, though they can be used to treat severe or prolonged infections.
Wound infections, however, are treated with antibiotics and surgery — possibly including amputation— to remove dead or infected tissue.
The CDC recommends that people with diarrhea or vomiting drink plenty of liquids to prevent dehydration. It also advises immediately seeing a doctor or going to the emergency room when experiencing symptoms of a Vibrio vulnificus infection: “Do not wait.”
Tell the health care provider about any recent consumption of raw or undercooked seafood, especially oysters, or any open wound that may have come in contact with coastal water or raw or undercooked seafood or its drippings.
