A quick swim in a Florida park was supposed to be summer fun. Now a teen is fighting to keep his leg.

After scraping his leg in Niceville, 17-year-old Joziah Thompson contracted a rare flesh-eating bacteria with a 50 percent death rate.

We take our kids to the water to cool off, never thinking a tiny scratch could end up costing them their lives. But a simple afternoon swim just turned a family's world upside down.

WHAT HAPPENED

Seventeen-year-old Joziah Thompson went for a swim at a park in Niceville, Florida. While in the water, he got a small scrape on his leg. Within two days, he was in the hospital with a swollen, red leg and a life-threatening infection.

Doctors found he contracted Vibrio vulnificus. This is a rare, flesh-eating bacteria that lives in warm coastal waters where fresh and salt water mix. It enters the body through open cuts or scrapes.

WHAT THE EVIDENCE SHOWS

Vibrio vulnificus bacteria has a death rate of over 50 percent.

• Only 100 to 200 cases of this infection are reported in the U.S. each year.
• Florida reported 33 cases and 5 deaths from the bacteria last year.
• Joziah underwent multiple surgeries to remove dead tissue to save his leg.
• The bacteria can also come from eating raw oysters or shellfish.

THE BIGGER QUESTION

If these bacteria are natural and deadly, why is there no clear warning system for families? We check the weather and traffic every day, yet we have no easy way to know if the water we swim in is safe.

THE OTHER SIDE

State health officials point out that these bacteria occur naturally in warm water, making them very hard to track in real time. Testing every swimming spot daily would cost a massive amount of public money.

This argument is strong because nature changes fast, but it leaves families with no shield from a hidden threat.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW

Joziah is back home but still faces a long and painful road. He is taking strong medicine, but he still risks heart damage or losing his leg.

His mother is now fighting to set up a system to track bacteria levels in local waters so no other family has to go through this.

WHAT WE STILL DON'T KNOW

Will Joziah make a full recovery without needing his leg cut off?

• Can local parks set up cheap, fast water testing systems?
• How much will warming waters increase these infections in the future?

SOURCE NOTE

Source: Fox10 and the Florida Department of Health. All charges are allegations - Joziah Thompson is presumed innocent until proven guilty.