Twelve Galveston beaches under bacteria advisory

Twelve Galveston County beaches are under advisory for elevated bacteria levels.

A beach under advisory does not mean it is closed, but a sign at the beach indicates that swimming is not recommended due to the elevated bacteria level.

The Galveston County Health District pulls samples from 52 monitoring stations weekly to test for the bacteria. The stations are along Galveston Island, the Bolivar Peninsula and the Texas City Dike. When an advisory is put into effect at one of the stations, it is tested daily until the levels return to normal.

Nine of the locations under advisory are along the Galveston Island seawall, two are on the Bolivar Peninsula and one is along the Texas City Dike.

Earlier this month, a diabetic man contracted flesh-eating bacteria after swimming at a Galveston County beach. A couple days after he went swimming, the bacteria began eating away at one of his legs. He had to have the leg amputated. He was in the water for only a short time and doctors said he likely contracted the bacteria through a cut in his foot.