Woman dies of flesh-eating bacteria from Harvey floodwaters
HOUSTON - Harris County officials say a 77-year-old woman died from a flesh-eating bacterial infection she contracted after falling into Harvey floodwaters in her home and sustaining a traumatic injury.
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Science marked Nancy Reed's death September 15 as the 36th in the county related to the unprecedented hurricane. County emergency response officials have tallied at least 80 deaths in flood-affected areas since the storm hit August 25.
Contaminated storm water was the underlying cause of at least one other death during the hurricane and its aftermath.
Sixty-four-year-old Clevelon Brown of Galveston County picked up a bacterial infection from standing in flood water and died of sepsis, which is an immune-system response to infection that causes widespread inflammation.