Flesh-Eating Bacteria Kills Mt. P. Man

A 55-year-old Mount Pleasant man died over the weekend from a flesh-eating bacteria infection, according to the Charleston County coroner.

Anthony Leroy Hills, 55, was a father of four and had 10 grandchildren, according to his obituary. A funeral date has not been announced; family is receiving guests at 695 Kent Street in Mount Pleasant.

Hills complained of a swollen arm and not feeling well before being taken to MUSC for treatment, his family told WCSC-TV. His arm was amputated and doctor's considered removing his leg before he died from the necrotizing fasciitis infection.

Half a dozen fatal cases of flesh-eating infection have emerged in the news this summer following the case of Georgia college student Aimee Copeland, who lost hands and feet due to the bacteria. She is apparently making a recovery.

Cases of flesh-eating infection are not on the increase, according to an MUSC physician, who said roughly one case is seen at the Charleston trauma center each month.

The bacteria that causes most flesh-eating infections is quite common in all types of fresh and brackish water sources, according to a Maryland microbiologist who studies the bacteria.

In the U.S., roughly 750 cases are reported annually, and about 20 percent are fatal, according to the Huffington Post. Many infections are not reported because the symptoms are minor.

With roughly 150 deaths annually, a fatal infection is rare, but not completely unheard of, statistics show. Heart disease, by comparison, kills 600,000 Americans each year. It's far more likely to die from a flesh-eating bacteria infection than to be killed by a lightning strike, which killed 26 people in 2011, according to the National Weather Service.