Necrotising fasciitis -Sqad?

[yogasun]

A friend of ours was perfecly OK the other Thursday, by lunchtime was running a very high temperature and began becoming incoherent. To cut a sad story short died on Friday at 9 pm. Such as shock for his wife. He was 83 and the hospital confirmed it was NF. He had received the flu vaccine on the Weds, could the bacteria have entered at that site? I think there is going to be an investigation of some sort.
He went downhill so quickly it was frightening for his family.
Is the bacteria that causes it dormant in some people Sqad or is it horrendous bad luck?

[yogasun]

* perfectly* typing in a hurry

[Sqad]

Interesting.....very interesting and I await to see the outcome of this situation.

Necrotising fasciitis is caused by a multitude of organisms but mainly by a nasty type of streptococcus, which "may" me lying dormant on the skin, but more likely to be introduced from the outside.

"horrendous luck". " coincidence?". I am not a great believer in the two proceeding concepts.

Also it would be interesting to know if there was any underlying pre existing medical condition e.g diabetes or immune deficiency syndrome.

I sense a legal component to this case and I await further details with interest.

[yogasun]

Thanks Sqad. I will certainly let you know when, and if I hear anything.
I do know that he had leg circulation problems in the form of DVTs and presumably on blood thinning medication(?) but was not diabetic unless it wasn't diagnosed.
I know his wife kept pointing out all the bruising that suddenly appeared over his body but by the time they realised what it was, it was too late.
I don't think that she is of the opinion that much more could have been done but apparently the hospital seem to have decided to investigate the case anyway. Rather sensitive so cannot find out much more yet as some distance away.
Will certainly let you know. Thanks anyway.

[Sqad]

yogasun. Thanks.

[LazyGun]

@ Yoga

Very unfortunate for your friend to have succumbed to NF - only around 500 cases a year in the UK.

I have included a link from the Health Protection Agency on NF in the UK for your information. In most cases, the route of infection is usually identified as a small cut or scratch, or a skin lesion like a blister. The causative organism will be identified, but one of the more virulent is Streptococcus A, which can befound on the skin. Intruducing skin flora into the body is one of the recognised dangers of a venepuncture or immunization, which is why normal practice is to clean the skin with an alcohol swab or similar prior to the procedure. It will be interesting to hear any additional details, as and when you hear them.

http://www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/InfectiousDiseases/InfectionsAZ/NecrotisingFasciitis/GeneralInformationNecrotisingFasciitis/

[yogasun]

Thanks LazyGun
That's very interesting, I appreciate your input.
I will post an update when one is forthcoming.