The bacteria are "remarkably common in the water and in the environment, " according to Dr. Buddy Creech, assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University.

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The only way to break that cycle is to vaccinate everyone of all ages, said Dr. James Cherry, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Dr. Buddy Creech, an assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, said that Aeromonas hydrophila -- which is "remarkably common in the water and in the environment" -- is one of many bacteria that can cause a flesh-eating process.

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