People USA – August 05, 2019

I

n mid-June Lynn Flemming, 77, fell

and scraped her shin while walking

on Coquina Beach near her Florida

home. Two weeks later she was dead—a

victim of necrotizing fasciitis, com-

monly known as flesh-eating bacteria.

Ricky Rutherford, 41, of Florence, Ala.,

is fighting for his life after getting the

infection while kayaking in the Tennes-

see River; Kylei Parker, 12, of Moores-

ville, Ind., nearly lost her leg due to

the illness, which she contracted on a

trip to Florida. With more people heading

to the beaches this summer, PeopleÕs Julie

Mazziotta spoke to Dr. Scott Weisenberg, a

professor of infectious disease at New York

University, for answers.

THE FACTS

ABOUT

FLESH-EATING

BACTERIA

Is It Safe to Go

into the Water?

CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSING SEA

TEMPERATURES TO RISE, INCREASING THE RISK

OF CONTRACTING A DEADLY STRAIN OF VIBRIO.

EXPERTS SAY THERE’S NO NEED TO PANIC

62 August 5, 2019 PEOPLE

FROM TOP: DANIEL SLIM/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; SHUTTERSTOCK