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The Center for Disease Control says between 700 and 1,100 cases of necrotizing fasciitis are diagnosed in the United States each year, but it says that is likely an underestimate.

Much of the floodwater related to Harvey -- which made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane in late August -- has now receded, but medical experts say the bacteria can remain present on items that have come in contact with contaminated water.

“People think, 'Oh, I don't have water anymore, I'm not at risk,'\" Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health, told ABC’s Houston affiliate KTRK. \"I think that's the big misnomer.\"

Reed is the 36th death in Harris County to be linked to Hurricane Harvey, which killed 75 people statewide.

A family friend told the Houston Chronicle that she broke and cut her arm when she fell earlier this month.

After the injury became infected, she was treated at Memorial Hermann Hospital-The Woodlands and then taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center, where she died, according to the Houston Chronicle.

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