A Man Died From 'Flesh-Eating' Vibrio Bacteria After Eating Raw Oysters

You may have read about bacteria that live in lakes, seawater, and even in pools that can make you sick. But you might also be at risk of these bacterial infections from eating raw seafood.

A 71-year-old man died after eating what many consider a delicacy: raw oysters. The man, whose name has not been released, ate raw oysters at a restaurant in Sarasota, Florida that turned out to be contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus bacteria. Said to have been dealing with underlying medical conditions, the man died two days later, USA Today reported.

What is Vibrio Bacteria?

Vibrio bacteria usually cause gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. But people with medical issues such as liver disease, diabetes, stomach disorders, or other conditions that weaken the body's typical immune response are at a higher risk of more serious complications or even death. Anyone with one of these conditions showing symptoms of a Vibrio infection should get to a doctor ASAP.

In an earlier case, a Texas woman also died after eating raw oysters. While on vacation in Louisiana, Jeannette LeBlanc, along with friends and family, picked up some shellfish, shucked and ate them, and soon after developed extreme side effects. Over the next few days, she had trouble breathing and developed severe sores and rashes. Once at the hospital, she was diagnosed with vibriosis, the name for an infection caused by Vibrio bacteria. LeBlanc fought the illness for three weeks, according to her wife Vicki Bergquist, and then died from the infection.

Due to the nature of the sores caused by Vibrio infections, the bacteria are often dubbed flesh-eating. However, according to the CDC, Vibriosis is separate from necrotizing fasciitis, commonly called a flesh-eating infection caused by bacteria like group A strep, E. coli, and staph. Still, the CDC says that around 80,000 people get sick with vibriosis every year and around 100 of them die. It's estimated that around 52,000 of those cases are caused by eating contaminated food, mostly raw or undercooked shellfish.

Oysters and Vibrio

So why all the finger-pointing at oysters? They feed by filtering water. If the water is contaminated with bad-guy bacteria, oysters can become contaminated too. There are some 12 different species of Vibrio living in salt or brackish water that oysters might come into contact with.

Swimmers are also at risk, but only if contaminated water gets into an open cut or wound. (Last year, a man died from vibriosis after swimming with a new tattoo.) "The words flesh-eating might make you think that if you touch it, it will degrade your skin on contact, and that's not true," Gabby Barbarite, Ph.D., a Vibrio researcher at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, told Health in a previous interview. "You have to have a pre-existing cut—or you have to eat raw, contaminated seafood or chug a whole lot of contaminated water—for it to get into your bloodstream; it can't break down healthy, intact skin."

While that's certainly a relief, it doesn't bode well for the raw bar. There's little you can do to protect yourself other than eat your oysters cooked. Just because you're dining at a fancy establishment, eating your raw oysters with hot sauce, or chasing them with chardonnay, you're not safe from bacteria, according to the FDA. Heat is the only thing that will fully destroy those buggers, so order oysters fully cooked. (Cook them at home following a few easy FDA-approved safety tips, and make sure to always wash your hands with soap and water after touching raw shellfish.)

Oysters are also a major culprit in spreading hepatitis A and norovirus–commonly referred to as the stomach flu. Both infections can cause nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Just a handful of reasons why raw oysters made our list of foods you should never order when you eat out.

Not a shellfish fan to begin with? Remember to keep open wounds away from salt water. And if you get a cut while traipsing around the seaside, clean it as soon as possible." Seek medical attention within four to five hours if [you] see redness or swelling," or if you have a fever or feel nauseous, signs that the infection has spread, Dr. Barbarite said previously. Caught early, Vibrio bacteria can be treated with life-saving antibiotics.