Woman dies from flesh-eating bacteria after eating raw oysters

MEREDITH, Texas -- Seafood is a staple along the Texas Gulf Coast. While lots of people enjoy raw oysters, few think about the health risks.

Texas native Jeanette LeBlanc and her wife were visiting family in Louisiana last year when she shucked and ate raw oysters.

Everyone thought she had an allergic reaction to the food, but her condition worsened within 48 hours.

Doctors told LeBlanc she had vibrosis, a flesh-eating bacteria from the brackish water that got into her system through an open wound.

For 21 days, LeBlanc fought for her life, but she never recovered and passed away in October.

Now months later, her wife and friends are hoping their story can save a life.

"If they really knew what could happen to them and they could die - literally die within 48, 36 hours of just eating raw oysters, is it really worth it?" asked Vicki Bergquist, LeBlanc's wife. "If we had known that the risk was so high, I think we would've or she would have stopped eating oysters."

According to the CDC, 80,000 people get sick, and 100 people die from vibrosis every year.

Most infections happen from May through October when temperatures are warmer.