NEW ORLEANS — Two people have died after eating Louisiana oysters infected with the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, the Louisiana Illuminator reports. 

A state health official said that the two deaths happened after people ate oysters harvested in Louisiana at two separate restaurants — one in Louisiana and another in Florida. 

Jennifer Armentor, molluscan shellfish program administrator from the Louisiana Department of Health, added that 14 more people have been infected. Now, 34 people have been infected and six people have died in 2025 alone, a higher rate than any previous year over the last decade. 

“It’s just prolific right now,” Armentor told the Louisiana Oyster Task Force on Tuesday at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.