Five Americans are dead from a flesh-eating bacteria outbreak on the Gulf Coast, and the federal government has nothing to say about it.
Louisiana health officials reported nine cases of Vibrio vulnificus infection so far this year. Five of those patients died. All nine were hospitalized. All had underlying health conditions. All were infected through open wounds exposed to seawater. During the same period over the previous decade, the state averaged seven cases and one death, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. The body count has quintupled, and the CDC's own data says one in five people who contract this pathogen die — sometimes within 48 hours.
This is a public health crisis unfolding on American soil, killing American citizens, and the permanent Washington class treats it like a rounding error. The same federal apparatus that can mobilize billions for overseas commitments and coordinate healthcare delivery for illegal immigrants crossing the southern border cannot be stirred to sound the alarm about a pathogen eating Americans alive on the Gulf Coast.
The New York Times saw fit to frame this outbreak through the lens of climate change, noting that outbreaks have reached waters once thought too cold and citing federal estimates that cases could rise 50 percent by 2090. That's a convenient way to make the story about the weather instead of about the people dying right now. NBC News, KABC-TV, USA Today, and WJLA all reported the basic facts without the editorial detour — nine cases, five deaths, wounds exposed to seawater, underlying health conditions, seek medical care immediately.
Florida has already confirmed two Vibrio vulnificus deaths this year, with 14 people sickened statewide, per the Florida Department of Health. Alabama's Mobile County has reported 10 vibriosis cases. Mississippi has reported two. The bacteria is spreading, and the toll is climbing.
The Louisiana Department of Health warned residents to avoid exposing open wounds to brackish or saltwater, wash thoroughly with soap after possible exposure, and cook seafood completely. Those are prudent words from state officials doing their job with the resources they have. But where is the federal urgency? The CDC acknowledges 80,000 vibriosis cases nationally each year. Where is the coordinated response?
The answer is obvious: the neglect is the policy. Washington has made its priorities clear. Billions flow outward to foreign causes and foreign governments. Healthcare is extended to those who cross the border illegally. Meanwhile, citizens on the Gulf Coast face a deadly pathogen with nothing but a state-level press release and a recommendation to wash their wounds.
Five Americans dead. The water is warm, the bacteria are spreading, and the people whose job it is to protect American lives are looking everywhere but home.
