text: (CNN) Hurricane Harvey has claimed another victim, about two months after making landfall in Texas . 
   
   A 31-year-old man died last week after being diagnosed with a rare flesh-eating bacterial infection known as necrotizing fasciitis, the Galveston County Health District announced Monday. 
   
   The man has been identified as Josue Zurita, according to the Houston Chronicle , and he was helping repair several homes damaged by flooding from Harvey. 
   
   Zurita went to the hospital on October 10 with a seriously infected wound on his upper left arm and was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, according to the Galveston County Health District. 
   
   In an obituary on the Galveston-based Carnes Brothers Funeral Home's website , Zurita was called a "loving father and hard-working carpenter" who moved to the United States from Mexico to help his family and "remained to help with the rebuilding after hurricane Harvey." 
   
   Zurita's death follows that of Nancy Reed, a 77-year-old Houston-area woman who died in September from necrotizing fasciitis related to Harvey floodwaters. 
   
   J.R. Atkins, a former first responder, also contracted a flesh-eating bacterial infection but survived, according to CNN affiliate KTRK . He had been kayaking through floodwaters to check on neighbors affected by the hurricane, according to a Facebook post in September 
   
   "We're surprised we saw three of them in the region, but given the exposure to all the construction and potential injuries that people would have ... it shouldn't be surprising. It's well within what we would expect given those numbers," said Dr. Philip Keiser, the Galveston County local health authority. 
   
   Yet such infections as necrotizing fasciitis are very rare, Keiser said. Since 2010, about 700 to 1,100 cases occur each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
   
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   Several types of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis, according to the National Institutes of Health . Such an infection can spread quickly and kills the body's soft tissue, especially if it infects a wound that is not properly cared for, Keiser said. The infection also can become lethal within a short amount of time. 
   
   "What happens is, you get some kind of break in the skin, and in that area -- between the skin and the muscle -- it's a fairly open space where the bacteria can grow," Keiser said. 
   
   "I have seen these things spread over hours. Even in one case, as I was examining a patient, I could see the red spread in the minutes I was examining him, and that's the real danger to it," Keiser said. "As it spreads, it's going up the space between the muscle and skin, and as it does that, it kills all the nerves and the blood vessels can clot." 
   
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   To prevent such deadly infections, proper wound care is key, according to Keiser and the CDC. 
   
   Keep open wounds covered with clean, dry bandages until they heal, especially if you are working in floodwaters, and avoid contact with natural bodies of water if you have an open wound. Don't delay treating minor, non-infected wounds, and wash hands often with soap and water. 
   
   Also, if you notice any redness or swelling of a wound, or if you have a fever, seek medical attention. ||||| Josue "Cochito" Gedeon Perez Zurita September 01, 1986 - October 16, 2017 
   
   
   
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   GALVESTON: Josue “Cochito” Gedeon Perez Zurita age 31 of Galveston died Monday, October 16, 2017 at Jennie Sealy Hospital in Galveston. Funeral services are 7:00pm Sunday, October 22, 2017 at Carnes Brothers Funeral Home in Galveston. Visitation will begin at 4:00pm with a rosary to be recited at 5:30pm. He will be laid to rest in his hometown of Miahuatlan, Oaxaca, Mexico. 
   
   Josue was born on September 1, 1986 in Oaxaca, Mexico. He was a loving father and hard working carpenter. He moved to the United States to help his family. He remained to help with the rebuilding after hurricane Harvey that hit Harris and Galveston Counties. While working the current rebuilding efforts he was struck with an illness that claimed his life. He will be remembered as a loyal friend and devoted Christian father who remained faithful to his Catholic Faith. 
   
   Survivors include his parents, Castulo Perez Reyes and Juliana Zurita Martinez Reyes; wife, Gloria Zurita Zurita; daughter, Carolina Perez Zurita; sisters, Yolanda Perez Zurita and Elvia Perez Zurita; brother, Efrain Perez Zurita; cousins, Anastacio Zurita and Silvia Gaspar; close friends Mr. Oscar, Mr. Eliseo, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Rigo., Mr. Caal, and the many friends that loved him dearly. 
   
   SERVICES Visitation Sunday, October 22, 2017 
   
   4:00 PM - 8:00 PM CARNES BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME 
   
   1201 23rd street 
   
   GALVESTON, Texas 77550 Get Directions on Google Maps Rosary Sunday, October 22, 2017 
   
   5:30 PM CARNES BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME 
   
   1201 23rd street 
   
   GALVESTON, Texas 77550 Get Directions on Google Maps Funeral Service Sunday, October 22, 2017 
   
   7:00 PM CARNES BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME 
   
   1201 23rd street 
   
   GALVESTON, Texas 77550 Get Directions on Google Maps ||||| 
   
   A homeowner dumps flood-damaged debris on his front yard in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey at the Canyon Gate community in Katy, Tex., in September. (AP) 
   
   A 31-year-old Texas man died of a rare flesh-eating bacterial infection last week, nearly two months after Hurricane Harvey made landfall and the man began repairing homes damaged by the floods. 
   
   On Monday, the Galveston County Health District said the man went to a hospital on Oct. 10 with a “seriously” infected wound on his upper left arm. He was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis — a rare bacterial infection that kills soft tissue — and died six days later. 
   
   The Houston news channel KHOU identified the man as Josue Zurita. An obituary said Zurita was a hard-working carpenter who left Mexico to help provide for his family, and that he became infected while working to rebuild Harris and Galveston counties. 
   
   “He's a very caring person,” Brenda Avalos, the wife of one of Zurita's cousins, told KHOU. “He has a lot of friends here in Galveston that love him. Everybody is very sad. He was very young and always smiling.” 
   
   [Houston spent massively on new stadiums, not its aging dams. As Harvey proved, that was a very bad.] 
   
   Philip Keiser, the local health authority for Galveston County, said in a news release published by the health district that the infection most likely occurred when bacteria from hurricane debris or floodwater entered the man’s body through a wound or cut. This case was the only known instance of necrotizing fasciitis in Galveston County related to Hurricane Harvey, according to the news release. 
   
   Keiser told CNN that he has seen such infections spread over mere hours. 
   
   “Even in one case, as I was examining a patient, I could see the red spread in the minutes I was examining him, and that's the real danger to it,” Keiser said. “As it spreads, it's going up the space between the muscle and skin, and as it does that, it kills all the nerves and the blood vessels can clot.” 
   
   Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane late on the night of Aug. 25. Analysts described the storm as a 1-in-1,000-year flood event that dominated huge swaths of Southeast Texas. In mid-September, Texas officials said more than 80 people had died as a result of the storm and the subsequent flooding throughout Houston and coastal areas, though it would take weeks to determine an exact death toll. 
   
   Infectious disease after a flood is typically a short-term concern, as The Post's Ben Guarino reported last month. In September 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the CDC reported 30 cases of MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus bacterium, among a group of evacuees sent to Dallas. 
   
   Tetanus booster shots can be one means of defense against infectious diseases. The health district's news release also noted that proper wound care is vital to preventing infections. That includes keeping wounds covered with clean, dry bandages until they heal, and seeking medical attention for any redness, swelling or fever. Even minor, noninfected wounds — like blisters or scrapes — should be treated immediately. 
   
   [Texans’ do-it-ourselves rescue effort defines Hurricane Harvey] 
   
   Stress also has a negative effect on the immune system, and ensuring food hygiene can be especially difficult in disaster zones. People’s risk of getting sick increases further when they are packed into crowded areas, like a mega-shelter, after a natural disaster. 
   
   The CDC warns against eating or drinking anything contaminated by floodwater that can cause diarrheal disease, such as E. coli or salmonella infection. 
   
   CNN reported that on Sept. 15, a 77-year-old woman, Nancy Reed, also died of flesh-eating bacteria near Houston. A medical examiner report said the cause of the Reed's death was necrotizing fasciitis. Reed was helping her son clear out his home when she accidentally injured herself and contracted the disease, according to an associate pastor at the church that hosted Reed’s memorial service. 
   
   One man, J.R. Atkins, told KHOU earlier this month that he was fighting flesh-eating bacteria. Atkins, a former first responder, wrote on Facebook about how he “nearly died” after noticing a small bite on his left arm that gradually swelled to his hand. Atkins spent time in the ICU after kayaking through his neighborhood checking on people affected by the floods. 
   
   On Facebook, Zurita was remembered his for his smile and willingness to help his neighbors. 
   
   “I'll never forget sitting on the front porch playing Lotteria [Mexican Bingo]," read one post. 
   
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target: – A 31-year-old Texas man has died from flesh-eating bacteria, the third reported victim to be infected with the rare bug linked to Hurricane Harvey. Josue Zurita, a carpenter helping repair flooded homes, died on Oct. 16, six days after he went to the hospital with a serious infection to his upper left arm, KHOU reports. Necrotizing fasciitis had already claimed the life of a 77-year-old Houston-area woman; a man who'd kayaked through floodwaters to check on neighbors and contracted the bacteria survived, per CNN. Dr. Philip Keiser, the local health authority for Galveston County, which announced Zurita's death on Monday, says the risk of contracting necrotizing fasciitis is "well within what we would expect" given the amount of construction and resulting injuries after the storm. "You get some kind of break in the skin, and ... it's a fairly open space where the bacteria can grow," he notes. The infection can "spread over hours," Keiser adds. Several types of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis, which kills the body's soft tissue. The risk of disease following a flood is usually short-lived, per the Washington Post. But to prevent infection, it's important to treat even minor wounds by cleaning them thoroughly, then covering them with clean, dry bandages. Tetanus shots can prevent infection. Zurita was remembered in an obituary as a "loving father and hardworking carpenter" who moved to the US from Mexico to support his wife and daughter back home. "He's a very caring person," a relative tells KHOU. "He was very young and always smiling." (Sewage in floodwaters was a prime culprit for spreading infection.)