Flesh-eating bacteria kills seven in Louisiana and Florida

A flesh-eating bacterium, Vibrio vulnificus, has caused five deaths in Louisiana and two in Florida this year, with Maryland reporting 72 cases as of late June. The bacteria thrive in warm seawater and brackish water, and infections occur through open wounds or consumption of raw shellfish.

Rising ocean temperatures due to climate change are expanding the bacteria's habitat northward along the US East Coast. A study found Vibrio vulnificus wound infections increased eightfold in the eastern US between 1988 and 2018. The bacteria also spread in northern Europe and the Baltic Sea.

Early symptoms include fever, redness and intense pain at a wound site. Treatment requires rapid antibiotics and surgical removal of damaged tissue, sometimes amputation. The CDC advises people with open wounds to stay out of warm seawater and avoid handling raw seafood. The elderly and immunocompromised are most at risk.