<unk>  is commonly found in the Gulf of Mexico, where more than a dozen people have died from the infection since 1990. Most deaths at that time were occurring due to fulminant sepsis, either in the area of oyster harvest and ingestion, or in tourists returning home. Lack of disease recognition, and also of the risk factors, presentation, and cause, were and are major obstacles to good outcome and recovery. After the successful treatment of the first person, the Florida Department of Health was able to trace the origin of the outbreak to Apalachicola Bay oysters and their harvesting in water prone to excessive growth of the organism. This contamination was due to warmth of the water and change in freshwater dilution because of a change in flow of the Chattahoochee River into the Apalachicola River, and in turn into Apalachicola Bay. A similar situation occurred after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Vibrio vulnificus
Bacillus cereus
Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica
Vibrio cholerae
Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli
Yersinia rohdei
Listeria monocytogenes
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis