Last month, Basil Kennedy scraped his leg on a trailer parked outside of his home in Bay St. Louis. He rinsed the cut with hydrogen peroxide and pressed on a Band-Aid.
Three days later, the 77-year-old was in the emergency room, vomiting with a fever. His symptoms escalated — his blood pressure dropped and lab results showed high levels of lactic acid, a warning sign of impending septic shock.
Doctors later found the culprit was Vibrio vulnificus: a rare and potentially deadly bacteria found in brackish, warm coastal waters. The infection often occurs when open wounds come in contact with contaminated water or shellfish. So far this year, 32 people across the Gulf Coast have contracted it, and eight have died, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.
But Kennedy’s case was different — he didn’t enter water after cutting his leg, his daughter Kay Kennedy Regimbal said. Instead, the bacteria came from his trailer, which he had recently used to launch a boat in water.
After receiving treatment from hospitals in Bay St. Louis and New Orleans, including two surgeries to remove skin tissue, Kennedy died on July 21 of organ failure caused by the infection, Regimbal said.
Basil Kennedy died of organ failure caused by Vibrio vulnificus last month in Bay St. Louis.
Regimbal and her sister Rebekah Kennedy said their father’s case underscores a widespread misunderstanding of how Vibrio vulnificus can be contracted.
People with open wounds should be cautious when swimming in brackish or warm coastal waters or handling raw seafood, particularly when those with weakened immune systems. Vibrio can also be contracted by eating raw or undercooked seafood.
Some Vibrio vulnificus infections lead to necrotizing fasciitis — a severe bacterial infection that kills the flesh around an open wound, which is why it is called a “flesh-eating” bacteria, health officials said.
“There doesn’t need to be a fear of the water,” Regimal said. “There needs to be an education and a knowledge of if you have a cut, if you potentially could have been exposed, if there is a risk, how to handle it and what to do.”
The notion that the infection may make people fear the water is personal for Regimbal and Rebekah Kennedy, whose happiest memories are of tubing and fishing with their father on his sailboat.
“All of our favorite family memories are on the water,” Regimbal said.
Basil Kennedy’s lifelong love for the water never dwindled, even in retirement, when he and his wife took a transatlantic cruise from England to Miami and boated through Canada.
When he wasn’t sailing, Basil Kennedy traveled the world. In 2023, he, his wife and Rebekah Kennedy took a train across Europe and made brief stops in London, Paris and Amsterdam.
But most of all, Basil Kennedy loved his home: Hancock County, Mississippi.
Rebekah Kennedy noted how “he always wanted to give back to the community,” including his hometown of Waveland, where he served in the city’s yacht club and co-founded the Waveland Ground Zero Museum to help commemorate the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
“He was happy. He was resilient. He had a servant’s heart,” Rebekah Kennedy said, describing him as “the life of the party.”
Regimbal and Rebekah Kennedy hope their father’s death helps spread awareness and education about Vibrio vulnificus, without instilling fear of water.
“My dad would be devastated,” Regimbal said, “to hear that people fear his most favorite thing in the world.”
If you notice symptoms of Vibrio after being near water or seafood, such as diarrhea, vomiting, fever or skin lesions, seek immediate medical attention.
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