Flesh-Eating Bug!

I received the following email on 22 March 2007 through the office colleague. Thinking that it was a farce I ignored it but my mind changed until I saw an article in the New Paper about the flesh-eating bug!

The email that I received --

Dear Colleagues & Friends,

My family and I would like to thank each and everyone of you for your generous contributions and heartfelt condolences showered on us during the bereavement of our father.

I would also like to take this opportunity to caution all to be aware that you must consult the doctor immediately if you are injured by any crabs and developed such symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, fever and slight swelling of the wound. This is to ensure you do not become another victim of the Flesh Eating Bugs.

Enclosed are the events of what had happened to my father.

My father was pricked by the crabs (bought from .- a well known supermkt....) while washingthem at about 11am on 22nd Feb 07.

He was fine until mid-night when he became ill with vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, fever and swelling of the wound.

As he was still conscious, he did not want to go to the hospital for treatment. At about 6 am, he became semi-conscious and we called for the ambulance to send him to the hospital.

When the paramedic arrived, they advised that he is in very critical condition as his heart beats were irregular and his blood pressure had dropped to very low or critical condition.

He was immediately sent to the nearest hospital (NUH) where the doctor stabilized his condition and immediately operates his hand to try and remove the infection which has traveled up to his elbow.

During the operation, the doctors came back to us and advised that he was infected by the Flesh Eating Bugs and they were unable to remove them. They advised that they need to amputate his hand from the elbow to remove the source of the infection to give him a surviving chance.

After the amputation, he was sent to the ICU for observation. His condition was stable but no improvement was seen.

Next morning, 24th Feb 07, the doctors called us back and informed that my father will go anytime and nothing can be done to improve his condition as he was already on maximum dosage of the drugs.

The doctors also suggested that we reduce the dosage to let him try on his own to live or go quickly and reduce his sufferings.

He died peacefully half hour after the drugs were reduced in the afternoon.

Thank you once again and may you all be well and happy and be blessed with good health.

Warmest Regards


The Electric New Paper :

Man dies of flesh-eating bug after being nicked by live crab. His last words:

The worms inside me must come out

THEY were strange words. But they were a sign that all was not well with Mr Tan Boon Hock.
By Joyce Lim

23 March 2007

THEY were strange words. But they were a sign that all was not well with Mr Tan Boon Hock.

The words, which were uttered to his daughter, also turned out to be his last.

Mr Tan, 83, died from a 'flesh-eating bug' after a crab nicked him with its pincers.

The rare bacteria had entered his body through the wound. Despite a last-ditch effort by doctors to save him by amputating his arm, the elderly man died within two days.

Tragedy and pain were far from everyone's minds when his brother-in-law visited the family at their four-room HDB flat on the fourth day of Chinese New Year and gave them live crabs.

Mr Tan's daughter, Ms Mary Tan, 47, said: 'Everyone in our family loves crabs'.

The childcare teacher added that her uncle loves to give them live crabs whenever he visits them.

That day, he had bought the crabs from a neighbourhood supermarket.

Mr Tan's wife, Madam Sit Ong Kee, told The New Paper that as she was not home, her husband decided to steam the crabs the next day.

Madam Sit, 83, said it was always her husband's job to clean the crabs as she did not know how to do it.

Ms Tan recalled: 'My dad and mum ate the crabs in the afternoon and he saved one for me when I went home for dinner that night.

'My dad then showed me a plaster at the back of his left palm.

'He told me that he was wounded by a crab while cleaning it. He looked fine and it did not cross my mind that the wound could be fatal.

'My dad did not suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes. I'm still shocked by his accident.'

That day after eating the crabs, at around midnight, Mr Tan started throwing up and had diarrhoea more than five times, Madam Sit said.

'He became very weak and I stayed up the whole night to look after him,' she said in Hokkien.

'His legs were very weak and I had to take him to the toilet many times.'

At 1am, Madam Sit woke her daughter, who was sleeping in the next room.

Ms Tan said: 'By 3am, my dad was too weak to go to the toilet.

'We just let him pass motion on his bed. He could still talk and said that he did not want to go to the hospital.'

It did not occur to Ms Tan that her dad's condition was critical and would eventually become fatal.

Ms Tan, who lives with her parents in the flat, recalled the last thing her dad told her: 'He said to me in Hokkien that all the worms inside him must come out.

'I thought that was strange.'

Ms Tan and her mother had thought that Mr Tan was suffering from food poisoning.

By 6am, the next day, Madam Sit was exhausted from looking after her husband.

She then called her fourth child and only son, MrTan Aik Cheng, for help.

The younger Mr Tan, 50, an engineer, said: 'I told my younger sister, who lives with my parents, to call for an ambulance.

'When I arrived at my parents' flat, the paramedics told me that my dad was in critical condition. His blood pressure was dropping rapidly and his heartbeat was irregular.'

The elder Mr Tan was admitted to National University Hospital (NUH) on 23Feb.

His son said: 'Doctors at NUH told me that my dad was attacked by a flesh-eating disease and the infection had travelled from his hand to his elbow.

'My dad's arm had to be amputated to prevent the flesh-eating bacteria from spreading further. It was his only chance to survive.

'But even so, he did not make it.'

The elder Mr Tan died the following afternoon in the intensive care unit.

All his nine children and 14 grandchildren were by his bedside when he died. His son said: 'My dad's eyes were closed.

'But we whispered into his ear and we saw tears flowing from his eyes. We believe he heard us. Then he left us.'

Mr Tan described his dad as a simple man who led a simple life.

'At his old age, he stayed home most of the time.'

He would spend his time watching TV and sleeping.

Madam Sit said she is deeply saddened by her husband's death, but said that the incident would not put her off crabs.

Mr Tan said: 'It was a rare accident.

'We won't stop eating crabs.

'But we want to warn others to be careful when cleaning crabs.'



My dad's arm had to be amputated to prevent the flesh-eating bacteria from spreading further. It was his only chance to survive. But even so, he did not make it.

- Only son Tan Aik Cheng


How the flesh-eating bug attacks
Last Updated: Thursday, 10 November 2005, 12:51 GMT
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Scientists have discovered how a type of flesh-eating bug disables a key part of the body's immune system.

Muscle infected with the strep bacteria

A team from Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust looked at why the streptococcus A bacteria can be deadly in some cases.

It causes conditions ranging from mild throat infections to the flesh-eating bug necrotising fasciitis.

The Hammersmith team found group A strep can destroy a key immune system messenger which should alert the body to the bacteria's presence.

We could potentially have a vaccine against streptococcus necrotising fasciitis
Professor Ron Cutler, University of East London

Many people carry the bacteria harmlessly on their skin and in their nose and throat.

But it can cause severe bloodstream infections, toxic shock syndrome - and necrotising fasciitis.

Over 2,000 cases of invasive disease caused by strep A are reported every year. Up to one in five patients die, if the bacteria get into the blood.

'Shooting the messenger'

The team's research began when a patient admitted to the hospital died from necrotising fasciitis, caused by a very virulent form of strep A.

Experts looked at post mortem samples from the patient and found that, despite the presence of the bacteria in muscle tissue, there were hardly any white blood cells, which would normally be the body's first line of defence.

The strain affecting the patient was isolated and grown in the lab, and biochemical analysis found that the bacteria prevented the immune system responding as normal by "shooting the messenger".

The bacteria interacts with a molecule called IL-8 which should act as the messenger to rally other parts of the immune system to attack the "invader".
But these messages are blocked, meaning the bacteria is unchecked.

The researchers then looked closely at its make-up.

They found a particular piece on the surface of the bacteria, which they have called SpyCEP, is responsible for blocking the action of IL-8.

Strains of strep A with the highest levels of SpyCEP were most effective at inhibiting the body's immune response.

Dr Shiranee Sriskandan, who led the research, said the finding was important because more analysis of the SpyCEP fragment could help in the development of a vaccine against strep A.

She said: "There is currently no vaccine against all types of group A strep.
"We are hopeful that this is the first step to developing one that is broadly effective and safe."

Professor Ron Cutler, an infectious diseases expert at the University of East London, said: "This is an exciting finding."

He added: "It's a very technical finding, but we could potentially have a vaccine against streptococcus necrotising fasciitis."

Professor Cutler said much more research was needed to develop any vaccine and to see how effective it could be, and who should be receive it.

The research has been published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Singaporeans like to eat chilli crabs. This blog is not to hinder anyone from eating such seafood delicacies.

You may eat them. The flesh-eating bugs are not only found in crustaceans.

If you cook your food properly, you need not worry.

Just take more precautions when preparing the dishes.

Don't prick yourself!