By Lauren Burgess
Lynn Fleming, 77, died late last week after taking a walk along a Gulf of Mexico beach near her residence. Her family is saying she died after getting infected by flesh-eating bacteria.
Though such bacteria is rare, it can be deadly, and several communities in Florida are extremely worried.
“I’m still numb. You know, it’s two weeks and I lost my mother. It’s been hard,” said Wade, Fleming’s son.
According to him, his mother was walking along the shore when she stumbled and got a small, three inch cut on her shin. Though fine at first, her condition soon began to worsen.
In the following days, she was rushing to the E.R., where she was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a bacterial infection that slowly kills the body’s soft tissue. When caught soon enough, it can be cured through surgery and antibiotics.
Unfortunately, the infection had already spread through Fleming, and she died two weeks later.
Fleming’s case of necrotizing fasciitis is considered to be the second case at a Florida beach in the recent months.
Kylei Brown, 12, was vacationing with her family at a beach in Destin when she began to feel a pain in her right calf. When the family returned to Indianapolis, Brown’s mother rushed her to the doctor, and after an MRI, Kylei was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis. Thanks to quick medical treatment, she survived.
“If the bacteria gets into the bloodstream and causes sepsis and multi-system organ damage, then of course the death rate is much higher. Up to a third of people who have this serious infection can die from it,” said Dr. William Shaffner, infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
About 1,200 cases of necrotizing fasciitis occur each year in the U.S.
“The key thing is, of course, if you’ve had any kind of wound and you start to feel badly, please seek medical attention right away,” said Dr. Shaffner.
If you have been in the water with an open wound, look for signs of fever, severe pain, and rapid swelling, as they could be indicators of such an infection. For more information on treatment, click here.
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