In the movie War Of The Worlds, a Martian lifeform comes close to wiping out our civilisation, before it is in turn devastated by something very simple: bacteria.
My father's girlfriend got scratched by a cat earlier this year, and being a diabetic, came very close to needing to have her hand amputated, as she struggled to produce antibodies to fight the infection. From a cat scratch!
Below are more stories about just how dangerous some strains of bacteria are. If you cut yourself, make sure you clean and disinfect the wound as soon as you can.
10/05/2004 10:59 - (SA)
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# 'Flesh-eating' disease strikes
Singapore - A rare flesh-eating disease afflicting a three-year-old girl in Singapore was not diagnosed until nine days after she became ill, it was reported on Monday.
A tiny black spot of dead flesh on the child's right index finger, spotted by a nurse at Mount Alvernia Hospital, was the only clue the youngster was infected with necrotising fasciitis, The Straits Times said.
Necrotising fasciitis occurs when bacteria found naturally on the skin surface goes under the skin, often through a cut or bruise, and starts destroying soft tissue and the fascia, the thin sheath covering the muscle.
The only way to stop it is to cut away the affected areas, Associate Professor Paul Tambyah, an infectious disease expert at the National University Hospital, told the newspaper. If not, the infection spreads quickly and is almost always fatal.
How the girl became infected remains a mystery. Her two brothers are fine. She had to undergo surgery because of severe swelling that prevented her from urinating.
Four days after the operation, on April 16, the nurse noticed the telltale black spot that is common in cases of necrotising fasciitis.
In Canada last week, one woman died and a man was in a serious condition when they contracted the illness after having surgery in the same hospital. The man is reportedly recovering, but those who came into close contact with the two were given antibiotics in case they were infected.
Flesh-eating bacteria strikes
14/08/2005 21:19 - (SA)
Hong Kong - A Hong Kong man became critically ill after he was infected by flesh-eating bacteria, the fourth such case reported since May.
The 57-year-old was admitted to hospital on Wednesday after he slipped in a wet market and injured his left leg on Monday, according to a government press release.
He suffers from necrotising fasciitis, more commonly known as a flesh-eating disease because the bacterial infection rapidly destroys soft tissue.
It can cause bloodstream infections and death within the same day, especially in people with liver conditions, according to the department of health.
Investigations were underway, the department said.
Earlier, two women aged 55 and 62 and a man aged 78 were infected with the disease. Two died from the disease. None had recent travel history.
The department said the bacterial cause of the infection, Vibrio vulnificus, is naturally present in warm seawater and may cause infection through open wounds.
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