Louisiana health officials have confirmed a fifth death this year linked to Vibrio vulnificus, a rare and dangerous flesh-eating bacteria found in warm coastal waters.
The bacteria is most common between May and October, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. It can lead to severe illness, including necrotizing fasciitis, a fast-spreading infection that destroys tissue.
About 1 in 5 people with this infection die.
It is not yet clear how the latest victim became infected. Two of the state's deaths earlier this year were tied to eating raw oysters, officials noted. People can also become sick if contaminated seawater enters an open wound.
"It's not just a Gulf Coast phenomenon any longer," Dr. Fred Lopez, an infectious disease specialist at LSU Health, told CBS News.
