Federal health officials are warning US consumers that there is no truth to a rumor spreading via e-mail that claims Costa Rican bananas may carry 'flesh-eating' bacteria. The rumor being spread across the Internet claims that shipments of bananas from Costa Rica are "infected" with 'flesh-eating' bacteria. Health officials note that the type of streptococcal bacteria that cause this disorder, officially known as necrotizing fasciitis, live in the human body and are usually transmitted person-to-person. There is no evidence that necrotizing fasciitis is transmitted by food.

The hoax is passing from friend to friend via e-mail and appears to have a life of its own. This is another urban legend. E-mail messages spreading the hoax often include detailed claims that the disease has decimated monkey populations throughout Costa Rica, and that upwards of 15,000 US consumers may be at risk. The rumor's propagators also claim that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is keeping this information secret from the public. Responding to the rumor, the FDA has reprinted the CDC's statement dismissing the rumor as a hoax on its own website at www.fda.gov.