US Flesh-Eating Bacteria Death Toll Reaches 8 as Gulf Coast Cases Near 30

Q: Does thoroughly cooking your oysters completely eliminate the risk of contracting this deadly flesh-eating bacteria?

Yes—thoroughly cooking oysters kills Vibrio bacteria, including Vibrio vulnificus, and greatly reduces the foodborne risk from eating them. That said, “completely eliminate” is a little too absolute in real-world food safety. The protection depends on the oysters actually being cooked all the way through and on avoiding cross-contamination afterward from raw shellfish, raw juices, knives, cutting boards, or hands. Health agencies consistently advise people not to eat raw or undercooked oysters and to cook them thoroughly instead. A commonly cited safety benchmark is cooking shellfish to an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C) for at least 15 seconds. Proper handling matters too: keep raw and cooked shellfish separate and wash hands and surfaces after handling raw oysters. It is also important to remember that cooking oysters only addresses the risk from eating contaminated shellfish. It does not protect against the other major route of Vibrio vulnificus infection—open wounds exposed to warm saltwater or brackish water, or to raw seafood drippings. People with liver disease, diabetes, cancer, HIV, weakened immune systems, iron overload, or those taking immune-suppressing or acid-reducing medicines face the highest risk of severe illness. So the practical answer is that properly cooked oysters are a much safer choice and should prevent infection from the oyster itself, but safe preparation and avoiding wound exposure remain essential.

3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Aug 25

Bay County, Florida, reported the latest Vibrio vulnificus death, raising the US toll this year to eight after exposure linked to contaminated seawater or oysters.
Nearly 30 cases have been confirmed across Gulf Coast states, with Florida reporting three deaths and Louisiana five; Louisiana has logged nine cases, above its usual annual average of seven cases and one death.
One in five vibriosis infections is fatal, and severe cases can rapidly progress from fever and diarrhea to blistering skin lesions, septic shock, amputations or necrotizing fasciitis.
Warm coastal waters from May to October help Vibrio spread, while people with liver disease, diabetes, HIV or other weakened immune conditions face the highest risk from raw shellfish or open-wound seawater exposure.
Health officials urged people to avoid raw shellfish and keep open wounds out of warm salt or brackish water after an unusually severe 2024 season brought 82 cases and 19 deaths.