According to The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, that answer is yes.
...for the first time to our knowledge, that a warming trend in sea surface temperature is strongly associated with spread of vibrios, an important group of marine prokaryotes, and emergence of human diseases caused by these pathogens.
From this recent story in The Washington Post, one unfortunate victim succumbed to this deadly bacteria just 4 days after contracting it while cleaning crab pots in Ocean City, MD. Symptoms of the infection developed within hours and the victim, despite having had a leg amputation, died just a scant 4 days later in Baltimore.
Vibrio vulnificus (the technical name of the bacterium) is, according to the American Society for Microbiology:
an opportunistic human pathogen that is highly lethal and is responsible for the overwhelming majority of reported seafood-related deaths in the United States
It is not a pretty way to go. A victim’s symptoms
include fever, chills, nausea, hypotensive septic shock, and the formation of secondary lesions on the extremities of patients
In this most recently reported case, these symptoms came on quickly and aggressively and health professionals were unable to reverse the effects of the bacterium.
The proliferation of these types of bacteria in our coastal waters due to climate change is just another reason why our political leadership must, quite candidly, get off their collective asses and start taking meaningful action to mitigate the global industrial impact on our changing climate.
Hat tip to Nimblewill (Thanks, Will) for adding these salient notes to what was initially a rather anemic diary offering:
Flesh-Eating Bacteria Vibrio vulnificus Thrive In Florida Waters
Study: Tar balls found in Gulf teeming with 'flesh-eating' bacteria
Flesh-eating bacteria scare along Gulf Coast has locals on alert
Vibrio vulnificus Infection: Diagnosis and Treatment
While not directly related to the topic at hand, the following offers context and information on related industrial impact to the environment:
Algae red tides menace coastal seas Carolina's Neuse River shows stress
Johns Hopkins article on farming and MSRA, Farmacology
Alabama streams, rivers drying up due to extreme drought