Nine people have been confirmed infected in Louisiana this year. Five of them have died, which is five times the average for the past ten years.
The cause is infections with Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium that thrives in salt and brackish water. As many as one in five people who contract such an infection die.
The bacterium enters the body through small wounds. The US Public Health Agency therefore urges people who have swum along the coast or come into contact with raw shellfish to thoroughly wash any wounds with soap and water.
Vibrio bacteria are also found in the Baltic Sea, but how far north they have spread is unknown, researcher Betty Collin told TT in early August.
