Louisiana health officials are urging residents to take precautions after seeing an increase in severe cases of a type of flesh-eating bacteria. 

There have been nine total cases of vibrio vulnificus reported in 2026, and five of those have been fatal. During the same time period in previous years, the state averaged seven cases and one death, ABC News reported. 

The nine cases reported this year were linked to wounds exposed to seawater, and the five people that died had underlying health conditions. 

“Vibrio bacteria occur naturally in warm coastal waters and are found in higher numbers from May to October, when water temperatures are warmer. Infection can occur when an open wound is exposed to brackish or salt water or when a person eats raw or undercooked seafood, particularly oysters,” the Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement.

Symptoms of the illness include gastrointestinal illness, wound infection, or blood poisoning, according to health officials. In some cases, the bacteria can cause "severe and life-threatening infections." In some of these cases of severe infection, limbs need to be amputated. 

Approximately one in five people with an infection from the bacteria dies, sometimes within one or two days of experiencing symptoms of the infection.