Louisiana health officials warned people in Louisiana about Louisiana Gulf Coast vibrio bacteria on Thursday after five people died this year. The Louisiana Department of Health said nine people have been infected, and all of this year's reported cases were tied to wounds exposed to seawater.
The department said Louisiana averaged seven cases and one death annually over the previous 10 years during the same time period. That puts this year far above the recent pattern, even before the state counts other infections from Vibrio bacteria that naturally live in coastal waters and are more common in summer when water temperatures rise.
Louisiana Department of Health warning
The warning focused on Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterial infection people can get through raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters, or when an open wound comes into contact with coastal waters. The Louisiana Department of Health said people should seek medical care immediately if a wound exposed to brackish or salt water becomes red, swollen, painful, warm or discolored.
People most at risk include people with liver disease, cancer, diabetes, HIV or thalassemia, people undergoing immune-suppressing treatment, people taking medication that reduces stomach acid, and people who recently had stomach surgery. About 1 in 5 people with a Vibrio vulnificus infection die, which is why the department's warning focused on wound exposure and underlying health conditions rather than the bacteria alone.
Louisiana cases this year
The department said all of this year's reported cases involved people with underlying health conditions. That detail narrows the risk picture: Vibrio can reach anyone through exposure, but the severe cases in Louisiana this year were all linked to patients whose health made recovery harder.
Louisiana also reported at least 17 cases of Vibrio infection last year, and at least 10 people in Florida, Louisiana and the Outer Banks of North Carolina died from the infection last year. People in Louisiana who have cuts or other open wounds should avoid seawater and raw shellfish exposure, and anyone whose wound changes color, swells, hurts or feels warm after contact should get medical care right away.
