Overview

• Health departments have logged roughly 60 cases in 11 states this season, with Louisiana accounting for 17 infections and 4 deaths and Florida 16 infections and 5 fatalities.
• The Falmouth Health Department confirmed an older adult contracted the bacterium after entering Buzzards Bay with an open wound at Old Silver Beach, marking an uncommon Massachusetts case.
• Researchers say rising ocean temperatures and hurricane-driven flooding are extending the bacterium’s habitat further north and prolonging its seasonal window.
• Vibrio vulnificus can cause necrotizing fasciitis and bloodstream infections that often require intensive care or amputation and carry about a 20 percent mortality rate.
• Officials advise individuals with liver disease, diabetes or weakened immunity to avoid salt- or brackish-water contact and raw seafood because no routine test can detect the bacteria in recreational waters.