Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
Aggressive fungus compounds tornado trauma
Doctor says at least 9 survivors may have contracted infections.
12:00 AM, Jun. 9, 2011 |
Some injured people who initially survived the May 22 Joplin tornado have been stricken by a rare, rapidly growing and sometimes fatal fungal infection.
The exact number of patients is unclear, but one doctor who has treated some of them puts the number at at least nine.
Dr. Uwe Schmidt, an infectious disease specialist at Freeman Health System, said three or four people with the infection -- known as zygomycosis -- have died.
"It's difficult to say if it killed them, but it definitely was a contributing factor," he said.
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department sent a memo Monday to area health providers warning them to be on the lookout for the infections.
Kendra Williams, the administrator of community health and epidemiology for the health department, said the common fungus likely came from soil or vegetative materials imbedded in the skin by the force of the tornado.
Schmidt said about five patients at Freeman have had the infection. He said he heard that four cases had been found at another hospital.
...
Schmidt said a week after the tornado, Freeman admitted three patients who had aggressive fungal infections. Doctors tried to control the fungus with intravenous medicine and by removing tissue that had been killed by the rapidly spreading infection.
"We could visibly see mold in the wounds," Schmidt said. "...It rapidly spread. The tissue dies off and becomes black. It doesn't have any circulation. It has to be removed."
Schmidt said one woman who was taken to another hospital had her arm amputated in an effort to control the fungal infection but ultimately died. Another patient who died was on life support and had a fungal infection to the head.
"This fungus invades the underlying tissue and actually invades the underlying blood vessels and cuts off the circulation to the skin," Schmidt said. "It's very invasive."
...
http://www.news-leader.com/article/...ado-trauma?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
Doctor says at least 9 survivors may have contracted infections.
12:00 AM, Jun. 9, 2011 |
Some injured people who initially survived the May 22 Joplin tornado have been stricken by a rare, rapidly growing and sometimes fatal fungal infection.
The exact number of patients is unclear, but one doctor who has treated some of them puts the number at at least nine.
Dr. Uwe Schmidt, an infectious disease specialist at Freeman Health System, said three or four people with the infection -- known as zygomycosis -- have died.
"It's difficult to say if it killed them, but it definitely was a contributing factor," he said.
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department sent a memo Monday to area health providers warning them to be on the lookout for the infections.
Kendra Williams, the administrator of community health and epidemiology for the health department, said the common fungus likely came from soil or vegetative materials imbedded in the skin by the force of the tornado.
Schmidt said about five patients at Freeman have had the infection. He said he heard that four cases had been found at another hospital.
...
Schmidt said a week after the tornado, Freeman admitted three patients who had aggressive fungal infections. Doctors tried to control the fungus with intravenous medicine and by removing tissue that had been killed by the rapidly spreading infection.
"We could visibly see mold in the wounds," Schmidt said. "...It rapidly spread. The tissue dies off and becomes black. It doesn't have any circulation. It has to be removed."
Schmidt said one woman who was taken to another hospital had her arm amputated in an effort to control the fungal infection but ultimately died. Another patient who died was on life support and had a fungal infection to the head.
"This fungus invades the underlying tissue and actually invades the underlying blood vessels and cuts off the circulation to the skin," Schmidt said. "It's very invasive."
...
http://www.news-leader.com/article/...ado-trauma?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
