Is Flesh-Eating Bacteria on the Rise? Carolyn Fleming of Ellenton, Florida, may have been the latest person to die of a flesh-eating bacteria infection, which she contracted swimming off the coast of Anna Maria Island in Florida, her family says. Cases of the deadly infection, called necrotizing fasciitis, may be on the rise because of climate change. In fact, a study published last month in the Annals of Internal Medicine said that rising water temperatures in the Delaware Bay may be to blame for an increase in the number of cases of infections in the previously rarely affected waters. The authors of the study described five cases of Vibrio vulnificus necrotizing fasciitis that occurred during the summer of 2017 and 2018. In the eight years before 2017, the doctors saw only one case of the infection. Fleming, on the other hand, acquired the infection in Florida waters, her family says, where the bacteria are naturally found. Here's what you need to know about necrotizing fasciitis: