A Kauai man who suffers from a rare bacterial infection has been transferred to Oahu where he’s being treated. Lihue resident John Stem, 49, is in stable condition after being found unconscious in his home last weekend. 

Hawaii News Now reports:

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said there are about 100 cases a year of the severe form of necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating bacteria. Medical experts said the disease is not contagious. Instead, what causes people like Stem to get sick are bacteria that enter the skin.

“Usually, there’s a trauma,” said epidemiological specialist Joe Elm. “A cut, or maybe a severe bruise that gets infected with one of these organisms, and it gets into the deep fascia. And then when it multiples it produces toxins and proteases that allow it to travel really fast.”

Elm said those bacteria can be found in brown water and other flood waters, which have been in abundance on the Garden Isle during the past several days. The bacteria then wreak havoc beneath the skin.