The state Department of Public Health issued a warning Saturday for bacteria in the salt and brackish water along the shoreline of the Long Island Sound after a recent uptick in infections.
DPH said five cases of rare, deadly vibrio vulnificus infections have been reported in recent months. Those sickened include residents in Fairfield, Middlesex and New Haven counties, according to officials.
All five of those people who contracted infections, four men and one woman, reported exposure to salt or brackish water through activities including boating, crabbing and swimming, DPH said. No deaths were reported.
Two suffered infections of the blood, while the other three had serious wound infections, health officials said.