A Texas man is dead after consuming raw oysters. This man died after contracting a certain strain of bacteria.
The Galveston County Health District announced on September 8 that one of its residents had died after contracting Vibrio vulnificus. While authorities did not reveal the victim’s identity, they confirmed that it was a man between the ages of 30 and 40 years old with underlying medical conditions.
These underlying conditions are said to have contributed to the man’s death as a result of the bacteria.
“He had problems with his liver. He also had some other problems, and he had to take some medication that suppressed his immune system,” said Local Health Authority Dr. Philip Keiser, a professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, according to the Independent.
Vibrio is an infectious bacteria typically found in coastal areas, where salt water and brackish water are common, according to the CDC. One can be infected by this bacteria either by consuming raw fish or when the bacteria enter an open wound.
Risk factors that can make a person particularly vulnerable include liver disease and diabetes. Primary symptoms of infection include diarrhea, cramps, vomiting, and fever.
The CDC issued a public advisory on September 1, notifying citizens of rising cases of death due to this bacteria in states such as New York, North Carolina, and Connecticut. While about a dozen species of Vibrio are dangerous to people — the most common of which is Vibrio parahaemolyticus — Vibrio vulnificus, in particular, can cause “life-threatening infections.”
“About 150–200 V. vulnificus infections are reported to CDC each year and about one in five people with this infection die — sometimes within 1–2 days of becoming ill,” said the CDC in its notice.
This man in particular had consumed raw oysters at an unidentified restaurant on August 29, becoming ill in the days after. The man was taken to a local hospital two days later but died over the weekend.
Officials are attempting to find the source of the tainted oysters.
“We’ve actually gone to the restaurant where he was eating, and we pulled the oysters from the shelf,” said Keiser, according to the Independent. “There are tags to them, so we can identify the lots, and the state is actually analysing them to see if we can find the bug in a particular lot of oysters.”
This isn’t the first time oysters have resulted in potentially dangerous illnesses. Texas health officials had closed down a fishery in Galveston and issued a recall for oysters after they had been linked to multiple cases of gastrointestinal issues in December 2022, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.