Overview

• State health officials report 26 confirmed cases in 2025, far above the typical seven cases and one death seen annually.
• Two earlier Louisiana fatalities were linked to eating raw oysters, while exposure through open wounds remains a known risk and the latest transmission source is not yet known.
• Regional tallies include 10 infections in Alabama, three in Mississippi with one death, and 13 in Florida with eight deaths, with cases detected as far north as Massachusetts.
• The CDC notes Vibrio vulnificus is most common from May through October and can cause necrotizing fasciitis, with roughly a one-in-five fatality rate.
• Health officials urge people to avoid raw or undercooked seafood and to keep wounds out of warm coastal or brackish water, as experts warn warming seas are expanding the bacterium’s range.