A Florida man’s bacteria infected oysters eaten at a restaurant in Sarasota killed him a few days later, The Sun-Sentinel reported.
The unidentified 71-year-old man was dining out at an unnamed Sarosta County restaurant earlier this month when he consumed raw oysters believed to have been infected with Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, also known as “flesh eating bacteria.”
The Florida Health Department told ABC7 Sarasota that the bad oysters were eaten on July 8 and two days later the man died from gastro-intestinal illness.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vibriosis is caused by certain strains of Vibrio bacteria, which lives in salt water and may be present in raw or undercooked oysters.
While most Vibrio infections from oysters result in milder symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting, infections caused by Vibrio vulnificus can cause more severe illness, including bloodstream infections and severe blistering skin lesions.
In these instances, many people with the infections have to be admitted into ICU, with between 15 and 30 percent of cases proving to be fatal.
Michael Drennon, the Disease Intervention Services Program Manager for Florida Department of Health Sarasota County, told ABC7 Sarasota that symptoms such as diarrhea, fever and general symptoms associated with gastrointestinal illness “can progress to a severe illness where you get the bacteria into your blood causing you to be more sick.”
Officials said this was the first confirmed case and death from Vibrio vulnificus in Sarasota County this year, with no reported cases last year, The Sun-Sentinel said.
The CDC warned that it is impossible to tell if an oyster is bad just by looking at it and advised that cooking them properly is the only way to kill harmful bacteria.
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