(June 25) -- A 14-year-old boy is fighting off a flesh-eating bacteria he may have picked up from swimming in a local lake.
Matthew McKinney of Hope Mills, N.C., is infected with the common bacteria Chromobacterium violaceum, that is spreading through his body, according to a report from local ABC-affiliate WTVD-TV.
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The bacteria is found in the sand and mud at the bottom of lakes. "It's everywhere, it's natural," Matthew's father, Brian McKinney, told CNN. "The reason it's so rare is because typically...it doesn't affect you."
Doctors have removed part of Matthew's nose, half of the palate of his mouth and five of his teeth in an effort to stop the spread of the bacteria.
Matthew is believed to have picked up the bacteria when he swam in Hope Mills Lake on June 14. Public health officials say it was likely introduced to Matthew's body through an open wound, but his father says he didn't have any cuts.
According to WTVD, the CDC recorded only 150 cases of this infection worldwide between 1927 and 2005.
