Woman dies after contracting flesh-eating bacteria from oysters

LAFAYETTE, La. – A woman died after contracting flesh-eating bacteria weeks after eating raw oysters she bought from a market.

Jeannette LeBlanc and her wife, Vicki Bergquist, were crabbing along the Louisiana coast in September when they purchased the sack of oysters.

KLFY reports hours after shucking and eating about two dozen oysters, LeBlanc started having respiratory distress and a rash on her legs.

GRAPHIC IMAGES: Woman dies after contracting flesh-eating bacteria

LeBlanc and Bergquist believed it was just an ordinary allergic reaction until things got worse.

LeBlanc was told she had contracted vibrio, a flesh-eating bacteria caused by eating raw or undercooked shellfish.

After 21 days, LeBlanc lost her battle with the infection and died on Oct. 15.

“She was bigger than life,” Bergquist told KLFY. “She was a great person, laughed a lot, loved her family, loved her dad.”

Vibrio can also be contracted by exposing open wounds to brackish water, which LeBlanc also did while in the area.


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