India, Aug. 12 -- Flesh-eating bacteria sounds like the premise of a bad horror movie, but it's a growing - and potentially fatal - threat to people in the US and beyond.

Vibrio vulnificus, a type of flesh-eating bacteria that thrives in warm seawater, is once again threatening the safety of beachgoers and raw shellfish enthusiasts. To date, Louisiana has reported nine cases, with five fatalities, and Florida has reported 14 cases, with two fatalities. As of late June, Maryland has reported 72 cases.

I'm a professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where my laboratory studies microbiology and infectious disease. Here's why health officials are so concerned about this deadly infection - and ways to avoid contracting it.

Wha...