Cases of "flesh-eating" bacteria infections are climbing across the Southeast. North Carolina has tallied 59 Vibrio infections and one death this year, while Florida and Louisiana have recorded eight fatalities.

OUTER BANKS, N.C. (WITN) - A man has spent more than a week in an Outer Banks hospital after a small cut on his leg turned into a Vibrio vulnificus infection. Doctors say the flesh-eating bacterium can destroy tissue and become deadly in fewer than 48 hours.

Cases of flesh-eating bacteria infections are rising across the Southeast, with North Carolina reporting 59 Vibrio infections and one death this year, WRAL reported.