Cases of flesh-eating bacteria, which refer to any tissue-destroying infection, rise in summer when more people are cooling off in bodies of water. The most common bacteria, vibrio, is often found in seawater and has the potential to be deadly.
The infection can come from swimming in waters with high levels of bacteria or from eating raw shellfish. There are typically 20,000 cases in the United States every summer, and factors such as climate change have the potential to cause an increase, due to the melting of ice that may contain harmful bacteria. It is most common in East Coast bodies of water, but can occur anywhere.
The CDC estimates 80,000 cases each year, with 100 deaths. Vibrio thrives in water temperatures above 55 degrees, which are becoming more common due to climate change as well.
