An Ocean City man died of a flesh-eating bacteria he reportedly contracted in Assawoman Bay, his family told an Ocean City newspaper this week.
Mike Funk, 67, died Sept. 15, several days after he was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, an infection caused by bacteria that can destroy the body's soft tissue.
Funk had apparently been in the water cleaning crab pots.
He was taken to Shock Trauma in Baltimore for a leg amputation, but it didn't stop the infection in time.
The cause of the infection was found to be the vibrio vulnificus bacteria, Ocean City Today reported.
The Centers for Disease Controlsaid these bacterial infections are rare and usually affect people with weak immune systems. People can become infected by eating raw shellfish, especially oysters, although the bacteria can enter the body through open cuts or wounds.
His widow told Ocean City Today that she believes her husband got the infection from an open sore on his leg.
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