HOUSTON, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- A 31-year-old man in Texas, the United States, has died from flesh-eating bacteria he likely contracted as a result of Hurricane Harvey, local health officials confirmed Monday.
Josue Zurita from Galveston, an island about 80 km southeast of Houston, succumbed to necrotizing fasciitis, an infection that spreads quickly through the muscle tissue on Oct. 16, his family told local media earlier.
Galveston county health officials confirmed the death, the second such fatality from the catastrophic event in Texas.
"It's most likely this person's infection occurred where bacteria from Harvey debris or floodwater entered his body through a wound or cut," Dr. Philip Keiser, Galveston County Local Health Authority, said in a news release.
"This is a very rare infection that doesn't make it any less heartbreaking for (his) family and friends," said Keiser.
Zurita, a carpenter, had recently worked repairing several homes damaged by the flooding caused by Harvey.
Nancy Reed, 77, died on Sept. 15 from the infection after falling in floodwaters and cutting her arm. She was the first person to succumb to flesh-eating bacteria in Harvey's aftermath in Texas.
Hurricane Harvey blew ashore on Aug. 25 as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in the south central region of the United States in more than 50 years, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and damaging some 200,000 houses in a path of destruction that stretched for more than 480 km. The Houston area suffered severe flooding after heavy rainfalls.
