Sunday, December 22, 2024

Tourist catches horrifying flesh-eating disease in Australia

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A woman’s trip to visit her daughter in Melbourne has taken a dark turn after mysteriously contracting a horrifying flesh-eating disease.

Carmel Rodrigo, from Sri Lanka, visited Australia for the first time and went to see her daughter Gayathri Perera and her family in Melbourne.

The 74-year-old has been here since January this year and had enjoyed months of family time and taking in the sights. Sadly, last month she began to go ‘delirious’ one night, according to her daughter.

‘She was screaming with pain and her hand was all swollen, going slightly blue,’ Ms Perera told Yahoo News.

Her mother was rushed to hospital and after waiting for several hours, Mrs Rodrigo began to lose the feeling in her arm.

Carmel Rodrigo (pictured) visited Australia for the first time and went to see her daughter Gayathri Perera and her family in Melbourne in January
Mrs Rodrigo (pictured with her daughter) contracted a deadly flesh-eating disease called Buruli ulcer and had to have her left hand amputated

Ms Perera was told by doctors that it was an infection but they ‘couldn’t recognise which kind’.

‘The spread was really fast. I was told to pray because she only had a 10 per cent chance of survival,’ she said.

They managed to get an answer and was told that Mrs Rodrigo had contracted a deadly flesh-eating disease called Buruli ulcer.

According Victoria’s Department of Health, Buruli ulcer is an infection that causes damage to the skin and soft tissue.

It’s spread mainly through mosquitoes but has been detected in other animals across several states.

Mrs Rodrigo’s left hand has now been amputated and she remains sedated in hospital after doctors advised that her pain would be ‘unbearable’ if she was conscious.

While it’s unclear as to how Mrs Rodrigo caught the infection, all Ms Perera can do is wait for her mother to get better.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with the financial stress of her mother’s medical bills.

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‘Please help us to make Carmel regain her strength to fight this horrible disease and to get back to her usual joyful and smiley self,’ Ms Perera said on the GoFundMe page.

More commonly known as the ‘flesh-eating disease’, Buruli ulcer is an infection ’caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium (M.) ulcerans’.

Health officials have looked closely at mosquitoes as the main species responsible for the infection’s transmission.

‘There is increasing evidence that mosquitoes and possums have a role in transmitting the infection,’ health authorities state.

‘Buruli ulcer is spreading geographically across Victoria and is no longer restricted to specific locations; however, the overall risk of transmission is considered low.

‘The number of cases in Victoria varies widely from year to year, but numbers have been increasing to between 200-340 cases per year since 2017.’

Buruli ulcer is mainly spread through mosquitoes but has been detected in other animals across several states

Officials have outlined ways that can increase the chances of a person getting infected, such as those on properties with possums, ponds and certain types of native plants.

Those with jobs that have them outdoors for long periods of time are also at risk as well as using bore water for bathing or gardening.

Thankfully, the infection doesn’t spread from person-to-person.

WHAT IS BURULI ULCER?

Buruli ulcer is a chronic debilitating disease that mainly affects the skin and sometimes bones. 

First described by Sir Albert Cook in 1897 in Uganda, it was not until the 1930s that Australian scientists led by Peter MacCallum first succeeded in culturing the organism from lesions of patients from the Bairnsdale region. 

The name Buruli comes from an area of Uganda where many cases were reported in the 1960s. In Africa, about half of the patients are children under 15 years. 

In Australia, the average age is around 60 years. In 1998, WHO established the Global Buruli Ulcer Initiative in response to the growing spread of the disease, particularly in West Africa.

Buruli ulcer is caused by Mycobacterium and belongs to the family of bacteria that causes tuberculosis and leprosy. 

Although the causative organism of Buruli ulcer is an environmental bacterium, the mode of transmission to humans remains unknown. 

The organism produces a unique toxin – mycolactone – that causes the damage to the skin. 

Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to minimizing morbidity, costs and prevent long-term disability.

Source: World Health Organization 

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