A dangerous threat is seeing an alarming resurgence in the warm coastal waters of the Gulf Coast. Vibrio vulnificus , a rare bacterium that can cause life-threatening infections, has claimed at least five lives in Louisiana so far in 2025, a significant increase over the state’s average of one death per year. This outbreak forms part of a broader pattern of rising cases in the region, linked by experts to warming ocean temperatures.

The Louisiana Department of Health confirms that the state has recorded 26 cases of Vibrio vulnificus infection this year, with all patients requiring hospitalization. The data reveals that the vast majority of these cases (85%) occurred after wounds were exposed to seawater, and nearly all infected individuals (92%) had at least one underlying health conditio

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