Protecting Yourself: Prevention and Awareness of Flesh-Eating Bacteria

2. What causes flesh-eating bacteria?

It's rightly coined "flesh-eating" because the infection can produce toxins that can destroy tissues. Surprisingly, the bacteria causing the disease belongs to a cluster of bacteria which are responsible for skin infections and sore throats. Usually, you would only contract mild illnesses and some may not even manifest symptoms. It's rare for this type of bacterium to cause severe illnesses like necrotizing fasciitis. Flesh-eating bacteria comes in other forms or a combination of such bacteria. These can include Clostridium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella, E. coli or even vibrio vulnificus.