Both cases, one in South Florida and another in Pensacola, involved oysters from Louisiana.
Aug. 17, 2022, 11:30 AM CST / Source: Associated Press
By The Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A restaurant customer in South Florida has died of a bacterial infection after eating raw oysters. A Pensacola man died the same way this month. Both cases involved oysters from Louisiana.
Gary Oreal, who manages the Rustic Inn, told the South Florida SunSentinel that the man who died had worked years ago at the restaurant famous for garlic crabs.
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The Florida Department of Health says 26 people have become infected with the bacteria and six of them later died after eating raw shellfish, including oysters, so far this year. In 2021, 10 people died out of 34 people sickened. In 2020, there were seven deaths among the 36 who became ill.
Last week, a man in Pensacola died after contracting the bacteria from oysters he bought at a market, the Pensacola News Journal reported. That oyster also came from Louisiana, officials said.
Infections linked to the bacteria are common in oysters and raw seafood during the summer months when water temperatures are warmer, University of West Florida Professor Robert “Wes” Farr told the newspaper.
“Serious infection is rare, but the risk is still there,” Farr said.
