Flesh Eating Bacteria

© Allan Street, 2008


In modern times, there has been the occurrence of many strange viral strains of infection that have passed over our society and caused disruption to our daily lives. Recently, we have seen such new strains as the Asian Bird Flu, the English Foot In Mouth outbreak, and even more recently the various reports of outbreaks of the newest strain of virus to affect us, being known as Necrotizing Fasciitis, or better known as “Flesh Eating Bacteria”.

Necrotizing Fasciitis is a form of bacterial infection that attacks the soft tissue at the subcutaneous level, meaning the layer directly benath your skin. It is a bacterial form of Strep A, which is also known to be the same bacteria that causes Strep Throat. It can be destroyed with a course of antibiotics, however sometimes cases can be quite bad and require more than the conventional course of antibiotics. If the bacteria spreads from the subcutaneous tissue and into the muscle, it will continue to act the same way on the muscle tissue, however, is known as Necrotizing Myositis, where muscle is concerned.

Most of the cases of this bacteria that have been studies so far, indicate that the bacteria enters the body most commonly through a cut or puncture in the skin, that can often be quite small, even as small as a papercut, where it will continue to thrive. Other less common entry points into the body for this bacteria, that were indicated by recent studies, are showing that it has also been able to enter through areas of the skin that are damaged or in a weakened condition, such as burns, blisters, grazes and bruises, to name a few. In a few rare cases, the point of entry, into the body, for this bacteria, has not been able to be determined, however, these cases are very few and it is believed that the point of entry shall be determined in the near future.

The way in which this bacteria is transferred from person to person, is much the same as the way the common flu virus is transferred, in that, it is carried in the saliva, and can be transmitted through a sneeze, a cough, or any other similar action that expels small amounts of your saliva. Infection occurs when the transmitted bacteria comes into contact with an area of skin that is either weakened enough for entry, or is an open wound, allowing easy entry. As well as this, much like the HIV virus, it can also be transmitted in the same way, where blood is concerned instead of saliva. If infected blood comes into contatct with either weakened skin or an open wound, the bacteria can enter the body.

So far, there are no known, and proven methods of direct prevention of this bacteria, and it is believed that the best practice we can use in defense of Necrotizing Fasciitis, is simply to adapt our current hygeine routines to incorporate soaps and other products that contain anti bacterial ingredients. Generally, this course of action, however, is not put into place until an outbreak of cases of the bacteria occur in your area.

Because of the way that this bacteria acts, and also the many different possible entry points into the body, the effects it can have on us are varied, meaning that the symptoms too can be different, depending on the particular case. However there are a few more commonly seen symptoms that can be watched for, at various stages through the development of the infection.

For approximately the first 24 hours of the infection setting in there will be certain symptoms that are very likely to occur. One such symptom is that you may notice that a seemingly small cut has opened up more, yet may not appear infected at this point, or may display other such small changes, for no apparent reason. Another common symptom to pay attention for is the occurrence of pain in the area of the infection. It does not necessarily have to be at the point of entry of the infection either, the entry point may have been a nick on your elbow, however the pan could occur in the wrist or the shoulder. Again, this pain will usually be unexplainable. At this point too, depending on the seriousness of the infection, you may notice the occurrence of other smaller side effects such as lack of energy, disorientation, fever, diarrhea and also possibly nausea too. Also commonly occuring in this period of the infection is dehydration of the body, in which, thirst levels will increase greatly.

The next stage of the infection setting in, from 24 hours to 3 or 4 days later, will hold similar symptoms to the first stage, only stronger, and also a few other common symptoms may occur, such as, the area of the body where the infection has entered may start to get stronger pain, the occurrence of or worsening of swelling in that area, and also in some cases, the formation of a purplish rash as well. At this point of the infection, it is also common to see the area of infection developing large blisters that will swell and discolour and being full of a dark coloured liquid discharge. In some worse cases, the wound, which the infection entered through, may begin to appear as though rotting, or gangreenous. At this point if any of the above sysmptoms have occurred then you should most definitely seek medical assistance, as it will not be long before it develops into the critical stage.

During the Critical stage of this iinfection, there are more severe and life threatening symptoms to be considered, such as the occurrence of lowered blood pressure. Also common at this stage is for the body to go into a state of toxic shock syndrome, which is caused by a release of various toxins that are created by the bacteria that has invaded the body. And finallly the worse case scenario and the final symptoms to set in are, of coure, loss of consciousness, or a severely weakened condition, where movement may not be possible and as such, it becomes impossible for you to treat the infection yourself.

Cases very rarely get to this stage without some outside, extenuating circumstances, that were unforseen, because most people’s common sense would have taken them to seek proper medical advice by this point. However, because the symptoms that occur during the first two stages of this infection are very similar to other known diseases, it is hard to identify Necrotizing Fasciitis until it has reached near critical stages.

During 1996, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) released a report that produced estimates of up to 1500 cases per year of Necrotizing Fasciitis, of which there was a 20% fatality rate. Then, two years later, in 1998, the NNFF (National Neurofibromatosis Foundation) released a further report stating that due to the use of internet technology to find and research more cases of the infection occurring, that their estimated figures were much higher than 1500 cases per year.

Treatment of Necrotizing Fasciitis, depending on the seriousness and also the stage of the infection, will usually involve a complex course of antibiotics, which are administered intravenously via a drip, and also, in some cases, may involve removal of the infected tissues. As well as this, other common treatments may be administered depending on the case, such as treatments for nausea and blood pressure, and other such side effects of Necrotizing Fasciitis.

In the cases that have been studied so far, the after effects of the infection, that were reported by those who survived it and have gone on to live healthily, are such effects as minimal scarring to major removal of tissues and in some cases entire limbs, as well as various forms of mental anguish as the outward appearance of their bodies after such removals. Another commonly reported after effect is the adjustment to skin grafting that has taken place to repair areas of the body that have been treated.

To this day, there is a lot of thorough research and testing being done to not only try to locate the cause and behaviour of this infection, but also research is being done to investigate effective ways to stem and eradicate the infection once and for all. The NNFF have created for themselves, a goal aimed at educating people and lifting the levels of public awareness about this debilitating infection, how to both recognise and prevent, as much as possible, the onset of the infection, and also to offer research and advanced development of procedures that will tackle this condition. They are currently involved in a number of special projects aimed at cracking the Necrotizing Fasciitis infection for good.

About The Author:
Allan Street is a professional writer and owner of the Shadow’s Articles Blog. He has written numerous published articles of his own, since the mid 90s, and for many others as well, helping new website owners and ezine, newsletter or opt in list creators, to develop quality, fresh and up to date content for their projects. You can search through a growing list of Allan’s latest articles, to be found at his new blog, Shadow’s Articles:
http://shadowsarticles.blogspot.com/