YouTube star Billy LeBlanc has announced his girlfriend has died and he almost passed away after they both contracted an infection from eating raw oysters.
“I’m sure none of you know but I recently almost died. I was in the hospital for 12 days. Unfortunately Natalie didn’t make it and she passed away,” LeBlanc wrote on Instagram on Sunday, July 14.
“I will always remember how we got lost everywhere together. I will always love her and miss her.. Be safe and hold your loved ones tight you, never know when it’ll be the last time you see them.”
His girlfriend was identified as Natalie Clark by People.
In a comment below his post, LeBlanc added he and Clark both “got vibrio vulnificus” from raw oysters.
LeBlanc has 208,000 followers on his YouTube Channel. In a 2020 video introducing Clark as his girlfriend, she said she's 37, from Los Angeles and has a son.
What is vibrio vulnificus?
It’s a species of bacteria that can cause a potentially serious illness called vibriosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The flesh-eating bacteria live in warm seawater. People can become infected if they expose an open wound to the contaminated water, or by eating raw or undercooked seafood, especially oysters, as TODAY.com previously reported.
Of the 80,000 cases of vibriosis reported each year in the U.S., about 65% are due to eating contaminated food, the CDC estimates.
About 1 in 5 people with this infection die, “sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill,” the agency cautions.
Others may need intensive care or limb amputation.
What are the symptoms of vibrio vulnificus infection?
Warning signs include:
- Watery diarrhea
- Stomach cramps
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fever
- Chills
How to prevent a vibrio vulnificus infection:
The CDC has these tips:
- Don’t eat raw or undercooked oysters or other seafood.
- Wash hands with soap and water after handing raw shellfish.
- Don’t swim or wade in saltwater or brackish water if you have an open wound.
- Wash wounds and cuts with soap and clean running water after contact with coastal waters or raw seafood.
