Louisiana health officials report that Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium sometimes called flesh-eating, has killed five people in the state this year. Nine people have been infected this year, compared with an average of seven cases and one death annually over the previous ten years during the same period. The bacterium thrives in warm, brackish water and has also killed two people in Florida this year; officials are urging beachgoers and seafood lovers to take precautions.
NYT and NBC News report the story as a public health warning, providing case counts, comparison to historical averages, risk factors, symptoms, and prevention guidance from Louisiana health officials and the CDC.
No centrist outlet in our set has published this story.
The Washington Times covers the same core facts (five deaths, cases exceeding the 10-year average) but in a brief item that frames it primarily as a warning to beachgoers and seafood lovers, without the extended CDC risk-factor and symptom detail found in the LL sample.