The latest case was reported in the United States where a 52-year-old man risked his life after being bitten by a family member during an argument at a family reunion. A few days later the man started feeling sick and needed surgery to save his life. If only he had waited another day before going to the hospital he probably wouldn’t have made it. The diagnosis was clear: necrotizing fasciitisan infection that affects tissues that is also commonly called “flesh-eating” disease. Let’s see what it is and how it is transmitted.
Flesh-eating disease: what it is
The necrotizing fasciitis or “flesh-eating” disease is an infection that mainly affects young and healthy subjects caused by bacteria, the most common being streptococci of Group A. The tissues affected by fasciitis become red, hot and swollen. Within a few days there is the presence of pus and the superficial part of the tissue is friable.
If not treated promptly, the diagnosis can be fatal. The key part is to remove the compromised tissue surgically. Sometimes it may be necessary to deface the body. Just as happened to the American man who had 70% of the tissue in his left front thigh removed to avoid amputation or even death. When he went to the hospital after the first symptoms appeared, the necrotizing fasciitis caused by the bacterial infection was already rotting the soft tissue between his knee and groin; the doctors had to intervene immediately, before the situation could worsen.
They operated on him and later thanks to an antibiotic treatment he managed to get back in shape, saving his leg from amputation as well. Wound healing was much faster also thanks to the good will of the patient, who adhered to the diet prescribed in these serious cases of infection.
According to the doctors, if the man had waited just one more day, the infection would probably have reached the abdomen affecting vital organs and at that point a septic shock could have been lethal.
How it is transmitted
In the case of the American man it is not clear how the transmission of the infection occurred but necrotizing fasciitis generally occurs either from the bite of an infected person or from subsequent infection. The most probable is the first option given that Streptococcus pyogenes is a very common pathogen present, for example, even for just a simple sore throat. In some cases, therefore, thanks to a bite, it manages to penetrate the skin tissue, triggering a very serious potentially lethal infection.
“A human bite is dirtier than a dog bite in terms of the types of bacteria involved. Normal bacteria in an abnormal spot can be a real problem.” – said the doctor who treated the American case.
Cases of human metapneumovirus on the rise in the United States
And always give it United States the increase in cases of respiratory infections from metapneumovirus human. It is an RNA virus that is part of the paramyxovirus family discovered in 2011 which causes serious respiratory infections especially in children. The most common symptoms are:
- cold;
- cough;
- short breath;
- difficult and wheezing breathing;
- fever.
This is spread through particles in the area, close contact with the infected person, or infected surfaces. Just like Covid, the virus can spread even when people are asymptomatic. Generally it is not dangerous but in children and in fragile subjects it can become so. This is why in the United States the guard remains high.