A 65-year-old local man inflicted with chronic diseases is in a critical condition after being infected with Vibrio vulnificus*, the Health Bureau (SSM) announced in a statement yesterday.
While handling prawns at home on Tuesday last week, the statement said, the man was accidentally injured by sharp parts of the crustacean on the little finger of his right hand.
According to the statement, the man came down with swelling and pain in his little finger in the early hours of Wednesday last week, which later spread to his right palm and forearm. He then sought treatment at the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre where he was hospitalised after being diagnosed with necrotising fasciitis on his right arm and septic shock, the statement said, adding that he was later transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Necrotising fasciitis is commonly known as flesh-eating infection, which is a serious bacterial infection of the soft tissue and fascia.
According to the statement, the man was confirmed yesterday as having been infected with Vibrio vulnificus in his blood samples by laboratory tests.
The man was in a critical condition at the time of yesterday’s statement, which said that he has been put on a ventilator.
Details about Vibrio vulnificus infection in English can be checked on https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/healthtopics/content/24/3780.html
* Literally translated, the Latin term means “wound-causing (and) vibrating” [bacterium]
Image courtesy of US CDC
