Louisiana health officials said two people died this week after eating raw oysters contaminated with the flesh-eating bacterium Vibrio vulnificus. The fatalities were disclosed at a 26 August meeting of the state’s Oyster Task Force and involved oysters harvested in Louisiana but consumed at restaurants in Louisiana and Florida. The latest cases lift the state’s 2025 toll to six deaths and 34 confirmed infections, the highest level in at least a decade, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. More than 20 of those patients required hospitalisation, well above the state’s previous annual average of seven cases and one death. Vibrio vulnificus thrives in warm, brackish coastal waters and can infect people who eat raw or undercooked shellfish or who expose open wounds to seawater. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about one in five infections prove fatal, sometimes within 48 hours. Officials advise cooking shellfish thoroughly and covering cuts before entering coastal waters. Florida has recorded 23 cases and five deaths so far this year, and scientists warn that rising sea temperatures are expanding the bacteria’s range. The Louisiana Department of Health urged residents and seafood sellers to follow strict handling guidelines as the Gulf Coast’s warm-water season peaks.