Officials say deaths from Vibrio vulnificus exceeding average amid warning over climate-linked case increase
Five people in Louisiana have died in 2025 from a flesh-eating bacterium found in warm coastal waters, substantially exceeding the annual average on such deaths, state officials have said.
Those who had died from contracting Vibrio vulnificus as of Wednesday were among at least 26 to be infected with the bacterium, with each case resulting in hospitalization, according to Louisiana’s department of health. Most of those cases – 85% – involved wounds being exposed to seawater, and 92% of the infected had one underlying health condition, the health department said.
Over the previous decade, Louisiana has registered an average of 10 Vibrio infections and a single death, state health department officials said.
The higher numbers in Louisiana come after scientific researchers have warned of evidence that Vibrio infections are becoming more common amid rising sea surface temperatures associated with the climate crisis – which has primarily been spurred by human emissions of greenhouse gases.
