RUN AWAY!!!
Just when it seemed Myrtle Beach, South Carolina had moved past all the negative national headlines flowing from a recent outbreak of gang violence … along comes something worse.
Flesh-eating bacteria.
According to Marsha Beal of Lumberton, North Carolina, her mother Bonita Fetterman contracted the potentially deadly bacteria from Myrtle Beach ocean water.
“She came in contact with a life threatening flesh eating bacteria after putting her feet in the water at Myrtle Beach!” Beal wrote on her Facebook page. “Surgery is the only option until it is completely cut away.”
Beal also included a picture of her mother’s wound …
(Click to view)
(Via:FB)
Egad!
Not surprisingly, the post went viral (errr, bacterial) … prompting city leaders to rush to the defense of their water.
“The City of Myrtle Beach is aware of a Facebook post that claims bacterial issues along the Grand Strand,” a statement read. “We have had no reports and no direct contact about any such issues. The city has been unable to confirm the location or date of any such incident. At this point, all we have is a Facebook post, with no confirmation. Our ocean water quality is tested twice weekly, with excellent results. If we can determine where such contact may have occurred, we can order additional water quality tests to determine whether any connection exists.”
Hold up …
“Our ocean water quality is tested twice weekly, with excellent results.”
Really?
That hasn’t always been the case …
We’re not necessarily saying the city is lying, nor are we saying Beal is mistaken in her diagnosis. Of course we can’t think of a reason Beal would have to misrepresent her mother’s situation, whereas city leaders have plenty of reasons to spin the story away from anything that might reinforce the presence of flesh-eating bacteria in Myrtle Beach’s waters.
Bottom line? We’ll have to see how this shakes out …
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