Two people are dead after they contracted a flesh-eating bacterium eating raw oysters in Louisiana. The deaths were due to Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium that is naturally occurring in warm coastal waters and more common between May and October. Vibrio bacteria can lead to illness when an open wound is exposed to coastal waters or when a person eats raw or undercooked seafood. In addition to the two oyster-related deaths, two other people with the bacteria have died this year in Louisiana. "Many people with Vibrio vulnificus infection can become seriously ill and need intensive care or limb amputation," the health department said. "About one in five people with this infection dies, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill."
