The Warm Water Gulf of Mexico May Be a Breeding Ground For The Flesh Eating Disease Bacteria

Diabetes Drug Infection Lawsuit News

Every month several more cases of necrotizing fasciitis, the flesh-eating disease, come to light in the media

Friday, June 7, 2019 - In each case of necrotizing fasciitis that has been recently reported the bacteria's victims were taken to a local doctor or hospital emergency room complaining of flu-like symptoms only to later find deep purple blotches under the surface of their skin that was later determined to be necrotizing fasciitis. In addition to fever, early signs of the disease are redness, tenderness, and swelling in a particular spot on the body followed by blisters. One patient with the disease had to be placed in a 17-day coma and another was made comatose for 3-days. Both had surgical debridement of dead tissue and was given intravenous antibiotics, about the only two things that medicine can do. Not exactly the take two of these and call me in the morning diagnosis they were expecting. Diabetes drug infection lawsuits handled by top national attorneys are helping persons and families harmed by necrotizing fasciitis from diabetes drugs.

Experts fear that necrotizing fasciitis, although rare today, can be on the brink of becoming much more common in states that consume shellfish harvested from the warm water Gulf of Mexico. A 70-year old Alabama fisherman, Doug Kirkwood, is expected to lose his arm if the necrotizing fasciitis that he was diagnosed with continues to spread. According to an ABC news report, Mr. Kirkwood first discovered painful, white blisters forming and spreading up his arm. The patient is a fisherman in the warm water Gulf of Mexico where the disease is said to have originated. As with most necrotizing fasciitis, all it takes is the slightest break in the skin for the flesh-eating disease to take hold. People in the southern US states are concerned that the warm water areas where fresh and salt waters mix may be the perfect breeding ground for the deadly streptococcus flesh-eating bacteria. "Dr. Sarah Bragg, an internist, and pediatrician at UAB Medicine Leeds tells us the bacteria is found in saltwater and brackish water where salt and freshwater mix. There are many types of what we call flesh-eating bacteria. That's a general term. It's really a term referring to necrotizing fasciitis. It's an infection of the skin and soft tissue. And it causes death and destruction of the soft tissue," ABC reported.

Dr. Bragg warns that those at high risk should avoid eating raw shellfish such as oysters. To follow up that line of reason, the US Food and Drug Administration has recently established one group of individuals that may be more susceptible to the flesh-eating disease. Diabetic patients, usually senior citizens, taking SGLT2 blocker diabetic medications such as Invokana, have been linked to 55 cases to date of Fournier's gangrene, a form of necrotizing fasciitis of the genitals that leads to amputation or disfigurement. Senior citizens taking diabetic medications that are under the care of nursing homes may be at a higher risk of developing Fournier's Gangrene. Recently a Florida military veteran died in a Florida nursing home after the smell of rotting flesh became so unbearable that attendants were forced to examine the patient. They found that the patient had necrotizing fasciitis of the genital area and called an ambulance to rush the man to the hospital where he died days later. Although the man was a diabetic patient taking SGLT2 blocker medication and the necrotizing fasciitis directly affected his genitals, it is unknown if the Fournier's gangrene was ever identified as the official cause of death.

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Lawyers for Fournier's Gangrene

OnderLaw, LLC is a St. Louis personal injury law firm handling serious injury and death claims across the country. Its mission is the pursuit of justice, no matter how complex the case or strenuous the effort. The Onder Law Firm has represented clients throughout the United States in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation such as Pradaxa, Lexapro and Yasmin/Yaz, where the firm's attorneys held significant leadership roles in the litigation, as well as Actos, DePuy, Risperdal and others. The Onder Law Firm has won more than $300 million in four talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits in St. Louis. Law firms throughout the nation often seek its experience and expertise on complex litigation.