Juneau man victim of flesh-eating bacteria

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A Juneau man is in a Seattle hospital where he is being treated for flesh-eating bacteria. The Juneau Empire (http://is.gd/vtgzTj) says Ruben Pereyra was flown to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center nearly two weeks ago, where he remains in stable condition. Necrotizing Fasciitis is a rare, deadly condition. It happens when the skin is somehow broken and a naturally occurring bacteria gets into the body. The bacteria entered Pereyra’s system through a splinter. He may lose his arm. The disease has been in the national news lately as the case of 24-year-old Georgia college student Aimee Copeland captured attention as she battled the flesh-eating bacteria. She lost her left leg, right foot and both hands. Copeland recently left the hospital for a rehabilitation facility.