Lethal Bug lives in seawater and on marine creatures
Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:47 pm
Extracted from Straits Times 25th Mar 2007
There are several thousand different types of flesh-eating bacteria known to scientists and doctors.
One of the most lethal, Vibrio, lives in warm seawater and on marine creatures such as crabs, prawns, clams and mussels.
The more common ones are Streptococcus, Clostridial and Staphylococcus.
Flesh-eating bugs cause necrotising fasciitis, which means the decaying of the skin.
The National Necrotising Fasciitis Foundation in the United States estimates that there are between 500 to 1,500 such cases a year.
In June 2001, national serviceman Chua Ya Ta (below) died of a very rare bacterial infection, which later led to a re-opened coroner's inquiry and a lawsuit against doctors and hospital.
The 23 yrs old died from streptococcal myositis, a viral infection so rare there have only been 21 cases over 85 years in the US.
Last September, a 10 yrs old girl also died from a flesh-eating baxcteria, although it is not clear what the bacteria was.
A coroner's inquiry will be conducted into Noni's death.
Also on the same page of the newspaper, is an 83 yrs old who died within 48 hrs of being pricked by a live mud crab from Indonesia which he was preparing for lunch.
My only advice to all is to use gloves or place cloth on fishes caught while taking off hooks. And always handle live prawns with care as not to have our hands pricked while using them as baits. You wouldn't know what'll happen. And if you are pricked with any sea creature on your fishing adventure, feeling feverish, having diarrhoea and vommiting ... See a doctor!
There are several thousand different types of flesh-eating bacteria known to scientists and doctors.
One of the most lethal, Vibrio, lives in warm seawater and on marine creatures such as crabs, prawns, clams and mussels.
The more common ones are Streptococcus, Clostridial and Staphylococcus.
Flesh-eating bugs cause necrotising fasciitis, which means the decaying of the skin.
The National Necrotising Fasciitis Foundation in the United States estimates that there are between 500 to 1,500 such cases a year.
In June 2001, national serviceman Chua Ya Ta (below) died of a very rare bacterial infection, which later led to a re-opened coroner's inquiry and a lawsuit against doctors and hospital.
The 23 yrs old died from streptococcal myositis, a viral infection so rare there have only been 21 cases over 85 years in the US.
Last September, a 10 yrs old girl also died from a flesh-eating baxcteria, although it is not clear what the bacteria was.
A coroner's inquiry will be conducted into Noni's death.
Also on the same page of the newspaper, is an 83 yrs old who died within 48 hrs of being pricked by a live mud crab from Indonesia which he was preparing for lunch.
My only advice to all is to use gloves or place cloth on fishes caught while taking off hooks. And always handle live prawns with care as not to have our hands pricked while using them as baits. You wouldn't know what'll happen. And if you are pricked with any sea creature on your fishing adventure, feeling feverish, having diarrhoea and vommiting ... See a doctor!