It was only a minor injury, but a flesh-eating bacterium soon became fatal to Philip.
ÖLÜDENIZ – A man who slipped at a waterfall in Turkey and suffered a small cut eventually died due to an infection of a flesh-eating superbug.
65-year-old Philip Maile was in Ölüdeniz, Turkey, when he stepped through a rotten board and scraped his leg during a day trip. The Englishman was wise enough to visit a pharmacy with his wife Vanessa. There he was advised to go swimming in the Aegean Sea with a waterproof plaster.
After a few days, his leg turned black and blue and the discoloration increased rapidly. Philip was rushed to a hospital in Antalya where they diagnosed the life-threatening infection with Vibrio vulnificus. Surgeons tried to prevent the bacteria from spreading throughout the body by amputating his leg above the knee.
Soon after, his body developed such a strong reaction to the blood poisoning that his organs gave up. His children, who had flown in in a hurry, witnessed his death in the hospital.
His 32-year-old daughter Charlotte told British media that she was still stunned “that such a small scratch can have such devastating consequences.” “It looked like nothing more than a scrape. I don’t want to scare people, because it’s a very rare reaction, but still.” She wants to warn people not to swim in open water if you have a wound, no matter how small.
The Vibrio vulnificus bacteria that Philip contracted in 2022 normally lives in warm seawater and can enter the body through open wounds or by eating contaminated seafood.
Treated immediately
Patients need immediate treatment to prevent death and are usually given powerful antibiotics and surgery to remove dead tissue. Preferably within an hour of arriving at the hospital. Every hour of delay in diagnosis increases the risk of dying from sepsis by 1 to 2 percent. But amputation may also be necessary to prevent spread.
Philip’s daughter Charlotte has started a collection to draw attention to the devastating effect of the flesh-eating bacteria. She has already raised £3,000 for a foundation that supports families affected and to raise awareness about the bacteria.
Article from 6th of August 2024 , De Telegraaf.