Health officials in two states are tracking cases of the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus that have killed at least seven people.
Two people in Florida and five people in Louisiana have died, CBS News reported.
In addition to the five who died in Louisiana, another four are in the hospital with the infection, The New York Times reported.
There have been a total of 14 cases in Florida this year, WFLA reported.
All of the cases in the state occurred when wounds were exposed to seawater.
While typically found in warmer waters, the bacteria have been found in New York, and there have been more than two dozen cases in Maryland in 2026, CBS News reported.
The bacteria live naturally in coastal waters. People can get infected if they have an open wound that comes in contact with contaminated water or by eating undercooked shellfish, most likely oysters, the Times said.
People with underlying health concerns, such as liver disease, HIV, diabetes and cancer, could be at greater risk.
“If you have those risk factors, and if you have an open wound or abrasion in your skin, you do not want to go swimming in brackish waters along the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Seaboard,” Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CBS News.
Vibrio vulnificus is known as a flesh-eating disease because it causes necrotizing fasciitis, which causes the skin around a wound to die, WFLA explained.
Other symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. If it gets into the bloodstream, patients can also experience ulcers, fever, chills, low blood pressure and skin lesions, The Washington Post reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 1 in 5 people infected with Vibrio vulnificus will die.
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