7-year-old boy dies from flesh-eating bacteria

SAN DIEGO - A 7-year-old Texas boy who died while vacationing in San Diego with his family last month died of a flesh-eating bacterial infection, the county coroner's office announced today.

Tevita Alatini of Spring, Texas, died July 10 at Rady Children's Hospital of bacterial necrotizing myositis, meaning the bacteria spread into muscle tissue, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said on its website.

Alatini was admitted to the hospital on July 9 after his family noticed a large red spot under his left arm while they were at Camp Pendleton's Lake O'Neill Recreational Park for a camping trip. The family initially took Alatini to the base's hospital but he was flown to the children's hospital after a base doctor diagnosed the boy with a severe infection.

Alatini died early the next morning.

It remained unclear early today how the boy might have contracted the infection but according to the federal Centers for Disease Control, most cases occur randomly and are not linked to similar infections in others.