A 67-year-old man died four days after contracting a flesh-eating bacteria infection in a Maryland bay through a cut in his leg.
Michael Funk was washing crab pots in Ocean City when a strand of the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria infected him on Sept. 11, causing him to feel sick and seek attention at a local hospital. He was soon flown to a Baltimore shock trauma hospital where his leg was amputated and he died on Sept. 15, according to the Daily Times of Salisbury, Md.
“It’s like something out of a horror movie,” Marcia Funk, his wife, told the Daily Times. “I really feel they kept it quiet because it’s a tourist resort.”
She said doctors diagnosed his case of vibriosis immediately, but the infection moved too quickly to do anything. The flesh-eating bacteria had entered his bloodstream, causing ulcers and lesions throughout his body.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is investigating the incident, though officials have not released a public advisory about the bacteria found in the Assawoman Bay. Vibrio vulnificus is very rare but can be found in warm, salty waters, the Washington Post reports.
- Meet TIME’s Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders
- After Visiting Both Ends of the Earth, I Realized How Much Trouble We’re In
- Google Is Making It Easier to Remove Personal Info From Search
- Oil Companies Posted Huge Profits. Here’s Where The Cash Will Go (Hint: Not Climate)
- Column: We Asked Hundreds of Americans About Abortion. Their Feelings Were Complicated
- A Short History of the Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of the Marcos Family
- Long-Lasting Birth Control Is Already Hard to Get. Advocates Worry It May Only Get Worse
- Who Should Be on the 2022 TIME100? Vote Now
