Contaminated oysters have left two dead after passing on a flesh-eating bacteria, health officials in Louisiana said. At least 20 residents from the state were struck down with Vibrio vulnificus, which is found in warm, coastal waters in the summer months and contracted when open wounds are exposed to it or when undercooked or raw seafood is ingested. Vulnificus is a particularly dangerous subtype of the wider Vibrio bacteria family, of which the CDC says impacts around 80,000 Americans a year, 52,000 resulting from the consumption of seafood. According to the CDC, people who contract the “Vibrio vulnificus infection can get seriously ill and need intensive care or limb amputation. About 1 in 5 people with this infection die, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill.” The Louisiana Health Department also noted, according to NBC News, that two more people have died from Vibrio vulnificus in the state this year, beyond the two latest oyster deaths.
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