A Texas woman has passed away after getting infected with a flesh-eating bacteria from eating raw oysters
via NYDN:
Jeanette LeBlanc and her wife Vicki Bergquist went crabbing with friends and family on the Louisiana coast in September where she also picked up a sack of raw oysters in a market, KLFY reports. The two ate about two dozen raw oysters and LeBlanc started to feel ill 36 hours later.
Bergquist told KLFY LeBlanc started to have respiratory issues and developed a rash on her legs. The belief was that LeBlanc was having an allergic reaction.
LeBlanc was then told she had vibrio after her condition started to worsen.
“It’s a flesh-eating bacteria. She had severe wounds on her legs from that bacteria,” Bergquist said.
People can get infected with vibrio when they eat raw or under-cooked shellfish or by exposing open wounds to brackish water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. LeBlanc had been involved with both.
Karen Bowers, a friend of the couple, told KLFY LeBlanc fought for her life for 21 days. LeBlanc was not able to recover and she passed away on Oct. 15, 2017.
“If they really knew what could happen to them and they could literally die within 48, 36 hours of eating raw oysters, is it really worth it?” said Bowers.
Bergquist and Bowers are both spreading awareness for vibrio now after the loss of their friend.
“If we had known that the risk was so high, I think she would’ve stopped eating oysters,” Bergquist said.
Well, we won’t be eating raw oysters anytime soon.
