BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The Louisiana Department of Health reports four people have died after being hospitalized for a flesh-eating bacteria in 2025 amid a rise in infections.
Those four cases were among 17 reported cases of Vibrio vulnificus this year, which is a higher average than LDH has seen over the previous 10 years. With the increase in cases this year, LDH is asking people to take precautions.
Health officials said 75% of the cases reported this year were from wound/seawater exposure. The bacteria live naturally in warm coastal waters. A higher number of bacteria appear when water temperatures go up…