Man battles case of flesh-eating bacteria A Lake Jackson man is in the hospital recovering from a rare flesh-eating bacteria he said he contracted Wednesday. Woody Harvill contracted Vibrio Vulnificus, a naturally occurring bacteria, twice. The 68-year-old said he caught it the first time in his right hand over Memorial Day weekend while surf fishing in the Brazoria County Beach near Surfside. Harvill said he contracted the bacteria again Wednesday morning in his left hand while fishing at the same beach. “I finally took my bandages off two weeks ago, and I decided I’m a gonna go fishing. And I was very careful. I didn’t get this wet. I had it sealed up and then I got it in the other hand,” Harvill said.