Pennsylvania’s health department has confirmed 13 vibriosis cases in 2026 and urged residents to take precautions during the bacteria’s peak May-to-October season.
Warm coastal waters drive the risk higher, and doctors say Vibrio vulnificus can enter through small open wounds or contaminated shellfish, causing severe skin infections, sepsis, amputation or death.
Pennsylvania said people most often get sick from raw or undercooked oysters and other shellfish, or by exposing cuts and scrapes to infected water; symptoms include diarrhea, cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills.
Maryland recorded 11 Vibrio-related deaths last year, though none have been reported there so far in 2026, even as officials warn the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are now in peak danger season through October.