US state authorities have issued a fresh warning over oysters harvested in Louisiana linked to a string of deaths this year.
Two people have died from flesh-eating Vibrio vulnificus bacteria infections in recent weeks, bringing the total number of deaths to six this year, officials said last Thursday.
At least 22 people have been hospitalised with the infection and another eight have tested positive or been treated in other contexts.
The victims all ate uncooked restaurants at restaurants in Louisiana, Florida.
Recent has found Vibrio vulnificus has the highest fatality rate of any foodborne bacteria or virus.
It’s the cause of more than 95% sea-food related deaths in the US.
The bacteria most often causes infections through the consumption of undercooked or raw seafood, as welll as open wounds coming into contact with contaminated seawater.
It’s part of a wider family of vibrio bacteria which live in coastal waters, posing a higher threat in warmer climates.
According to the US Centres for Disease Control, some 80,000 people in the US catch vibrio infections every year, mostly through food.
Some 500 of these are hospitalised, and approximately 100 die.
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