Bay St. Louis man loses leg after case of ‘flesh-eating’ vibrio vulnificus

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At 64 years old and retired, Brian Schilling spent one July afternoon out on the water in Bay St. Louis, but that quick trip to pick up some crab traps and tie up the boat at the Henderson Point public launch changed his life forever.

Schilling’s fiancé, Lisa Vignes, says he scraped his leg on a boat trailer and didn’t think much of it, until his entire leg went black within 12 hours.

He was rushed to the hospital, where Vignes says the love of her life underwent surgeries twice a week to try and save his leg from the deadly vibrio vulnificus infection.

Ultimately, he was transferred to University Medical Center, the area’s only Level 1 trauma center, on life support before doctors could get the infection under control.

Weeks later, Schilling was spared his life but lost his leg.

Doctors say the infection was too deep for cadaver skin to repair. They amputated a few inches above the knee.

Now, Schilling’s family is urging the public to think twice before taking a dip on the gulf coast.

“They had to cut more of his leg off than they expected,” Vignes told Fox 8. “He was in extreme shock when he woke up.”



The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says vibrio are naturally occurring bacteria in coastal waterways.

It festers in warmer water, and experts say you can get infected from swallowing the bacteria or getting it in a cut or wound.

Schilling’s infection stemmed from the same boat launch where family says a 77-year-old Bay St. Louis man contracted the same infection and died.

In both cases, we’re told there were no warning signs or flags to alert the public of a possible hot spot for this deadly illness.


Fox 8 has reached out to the Mississippi Department to Health for an explanation on the apparent lack of warning signage.

According to the CDC, about 1 in 5 people with Vibrio vulnificus die, sometimes within 48 hours of becoming ill.

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