Woman Who Survived Hurricane Harvey Onslaught Dies Because of Flesh-Eating Bacteria

Nancy Reed, 77, a survivor of the onslaught of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, died from flesh-eating bacteria that she acquired from the storm's floods.

According to the Harris County medical examiner's office, Reed died last Sept. 15 from flesh-eating bacteria that infected her by penetrating her skin through a deep wound, USA Today reports.

Before she died, the 77-year-old survivor fell at her son's residence in Kingswood, which resulted in her arm being broken and gaining a deep cut. When Reed's injury became infected, she was brought to Memorial Hermann Hospital – The Woodlands for treatment.

Later on, Reed was moved to the Memorial Hermann Hospital – Texas Medical Center, where she passed away.

The official autopsy reports that Reed's cause of death was necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating bacteria. The reports were only released last Tuesday.

Dr. David Persse, the director of Houston's emergency medical services, said that Reed's death was a tragic one and that the likes of her death were something they tried to anticipate after Hurricane Harvey hit.

"This is one of the things we'd been worrying about once the flooding began, that something like this might occur. My heart goes out to the family," Persse told the Houston Chron.

The infection from the flesh-eating bacteria worsened Reed's blunt trauma on her arm according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, which ultimately led to her death.

However, health authorities are not required to be notified when a doctor or medical practitioner diagnoses a patient with infections from flesh-eating bacteria. They are only obligated to notify them about the organisms that are sources of the disease, which are streptococcus, E. coli, Vibrio vulnificus and certain types of drug-resistant staphylococcus, according to the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention.

Reed and 35 other deaths have been linked to Hurricane Harvey in Texas alone.