The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced that a man in his 60s from Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, was identified as the first Vibrio sepsis patient this year.
Vibrio sepsis is usually caused by eating raw or undercooked seafood, or when the wounded skin becomes infected with contaminated seawater.
People with chronic liver disease or diabetes are even more at risk, with 70 cases and 25 deaths last year.