In the summer, when coastal waters warm up, the presence of a bacterium that can cause serious infections in humans increases. It is Vibrio vulnificus, a microorganism that naturally lives in marine and brackish waters in different parts of the world. The U.S. state of Louisiana has reported nine cases of infection this 2026, five of which have resulted in the death of those affected. All cases have required hospitalization, and authorities have linked them to the exposure of wounds to seawater. During the previous ten years, the state had reported an average of about seven cases and one death annually.

A disease detected simultaneously in Barcelona, Lyon, and Berlin could be emerging as a new sexually transmitted infection (STI). This is the conclusion reached by professionals at Vall d'Hebron Hospital after diagnosing a dozen cases of dermatophilosis in recent months, a rare skin infection in humans caused by bacteria associated with animals, especially livestock such as horses, goats, and cows. This time, however, professionals believe that transmission has been from person to person through sexual contact, far from the animals that generally cause contagion and the tropical areas where this disease is more frequent.