Lake bacteria, Chromobacterium Violaceum, warning

Lake bacteria leaves a boy fighting for his life. A 14-year-old, Cumberland County boy, Matthew McKinney, has been infected by a common lake bacteria.

The lake bacteria called Chromobacterium Violaceum that Matthew contracted is common in the sand and mud at the bottom of lakes, ponds and rivers across the state. The CDC said there has been fewer than 150 cases around the world between 1927 and 2005.

Doctors had to remove part of his son’s nose, half of the palette in his mouth and five teeth.