A scanning electron microscopic image of a grouping of Vibrio vulnificus bacteria. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images, courtesy Centers for Disease Control / colorized by James Gathany)
The death of a Long Island resident has been linked to a bacteria found in raw shellfish or seawater that has also been blamed for two deaths in Connecticut, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday.
The Vibrio vulnificus bacteria was identified in a Suffolk County resident who died recently, Hochul said.
“While rare, the vibrio bacteria has unfortunately made it to this region and can be extraordinarily dangerous,” Hochul said in a news release.
Precautions for avoiding the potentially deadly bacteria include protecting open wounds from seawater and, for those with compromised immune systems, forgoing raw or undercooked shellfish, she said.
The death in Suffolk County is being investigated to determine if the bacteria was encountered in New York waters or elsewhere, the governor said, adding that health care providers should consider Vibrio vulnificus when seeing patients with severe wound infections or sepsis.
Health officials say anyone can get vibriosis, the illness caused by the bacteria, but those with liver disease, cancer or a weakened immune system, or people taking medicine to decrease stomach acid levels may be more susceptible to infection or more likely to develop complications.
The two people who died in Connecticut were among three in the state known to have been infected with the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria this year, Connecticut heath officials said. All were between the ages of 60 and 80, the officials said.
Luis Rubiales, the head of the Spanish soccer federation, announced his resignation in an interview with Piers Morgan after he faced backlash over a kiss he gave to Spanish soccer star Jenni Hermoso following the team's World Cup final win.
Monday marked 22 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon in Washington, DC. Cheddar News' Michelle Castillo spoke with Lt. Jim McCarthy, a firefighter who shared his memories of that day and discussed the health struggles that first responders continue to suffer from to this day.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has issued an emergency public health order temporarily suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County.
“Extraneous materials” triggered nine recalls in 2022 of more than 477,000 pounds of food regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service — triple the number of recalls tied to food contaminated with toxic E. coli bacteria.
