A retired engineer spent a perfect day emptying crab traps on the private wharf of his Alabama home – but contracted a flesh-eating bacteria which killed him shortly afterwards. 

Michael ‘Moose’ Mallini, 73, was spending time on Mobile Bay in Alabama in April when water from his crab traps splashed onto his legs, according to his family.

Mallini had a small cut on his skin, which allowed the bacteria, Vibrio, to enter his body and trigger necrotizing fasciitis, a rare but rapidly spreading infection commonly described as flesh-eating disease.

‘He was emptying his crab traps, and apparently, he got water from the crab traps all over his legs, and he didn’t think anything about it,’ his sister Rita Mallini told WKRG.

But Mallini began developing small blisters on his legs.

‘By Wednesday night, he had huge blisters on his legs, and then he was dead Friday afternoon,’ Rita told WKRG.

His sister Angela Mallini said doctors diagnosed him with necrotizing fasciitis as the infection spread throughout his entire body.

Mallini became the first person in Mobile County to die from Vibrio this year.

Mallinis, 73, of Mobile, Alabama, died after contracting Vibrio vulnificus, a potentially deadly flesh-eating bacteria

Health officials say 16 cases of vibriosis were reported in Mobile County in 2025 and warn that about one in five severe infections are fatal (Pictured: Mobile Bay, Alabama)

His funeral was held Friday.

Family members said Mallini, affectionately known as ‘Moose,’ had recently completed construction of his wharf less than three months earlier and was finally able to enjoy one of his favorite pastimes.

They described him as adventurous, with a love of motorcycles, fishing, crabbing and traveling around the world.

‘We always have a crab boil. He loved fishing. He loved being in the water,’ Rita told the outlet.

Despite the tragedy, his family said they do not want people to avoid the water.

‘We don’t want to scare people away from the water. We just want to caution them,’ Angela said. ‘Anyone with a break in the skin is liable to become infected.’

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vibrio vulnificus is a naturally occurring bacteria found in warm coastal waters that can enter the body through even a small cut or scrape.

The bacteria entered through a cut on his leg and caused necrotizing fasciitis, a rapidly spreading flesh-eating infection

Most people become infected after eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters, but the bacteria can also cause life-threatening infections when an open wound is exposed to saltwater or brackish water.

About one in five people with the infection die, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill.

The Mobile County Health Department reported 16 cases of vibriosis in the county in 2025.

Health officials advise people to avoid exposing open wounds, cuts or scrapes to saltwater or brackish water and to use caution when eating raw or undercooked seafood, particularly oysters.