Louisiana urged beachgoers to take precautions against Vibrio vulnificus, as infections from the flesh-eating bacteria spike.
Nine people have been infected and five have died this year after coming into contact with warm seawater, where the bacteria naturally live, according to state health officials. During the last decade, the state averaged seven infections and one death per year.
People with open wounds are especially at risk of infection, and the bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis, a rapid death of the flesh around the wound. One in 5 people die after getting a Vibrio vulnificus infection, and others may need limbs amputated.
The infections are rare, with only a few hundred cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention each year — mostly in Gulf Coast states. But as coastal waters have warmed due to climate change, several East Coast states have reported more infections. Cases increased eightfold in the eastern United States from 1988 to 2018.
Symptoms of a Vibrio vulnificus infection include vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. If the bacteria enters the bloodstream, victims may experience ulcers, fever, chills, decreased blood pressure and blistering skin lesions.
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