Man loses skin on back of legs due to flesh-eating bacteria

This image provided by UTMB-Galveston shows a scanning electron microscopic image of WT (wild type) Aeromonas hydrophila strain SSU, the bacteria responsible for the flesh-eating disease that is usually caused by a strep germ. Georgia grad student Aimee Copeland is fighting a life-threatening flesh-eating disease, and doctors are calling her case very rare. The infection occurred after she gashed her leg in a Georgia river May 1, 2012, after a zip line accident. (AP Photo/UTMB-Galveston, Ashok K. Chopra, Ph.D., and Dr. Leon Bromberg) (AP Photo/UTMB-Galveston, Ashok K. Chopra, Ph.D., and Dr. Leon Bromberg)

An Australian man is being treated after contracting a rare flesh-eating bacteria that destroyed the back of his legs. The man and an unrelated female patient both picked up the condition in Polynesia; both are in stable condition.

The man, 57, had his skin stripped from his lower back down to his feet and the woman was affected from the knees down, according to Sky News.

According to Sky News, both patients may have been infected with necrotizing fasciitis after being bitten by an insect.

The condition is uncommon in Australia.

“There are only about 400 cases reported in Australia each year and it's usually people who have pre-disposing immune system problems, or diabetes, or some other condition that puts them at exposure or at risk of developing the condition,” Australian Medical Association Vice President Tony Bartone told Sky News.

In October, a man died in Maryland after contracting a flesh-eating bacteria infection.