- Traveler's Exposure To Brazilian Screwworm
Raises Concerns Of Possible Outbreak Here
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- HUNTSVILLE, AL (AP) - A man who returned from Brazil with flesh-eating screwworm
maggots on his scalp may have introduced the lethal insect to northern
Alabama, health officials said.
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- The traveler, who was not identified,
sought treatment when he noticed growing sores on his scalp after arriving
home from his trip July 31.
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- Health officials said Friday they believe
screwworm flies probably laid eggs in an open wound on his head while the
man was in the Brazilian rain forest.
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- During the insect's three-week life cycle,
the eggs pupate and become larvae, which then feed on the host animal's
flesh until they turn into flies. Screwworm larvae can devour a 600-pound
steer in 5-7 days, experts said.
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- Although the man has been treated, officials
are concerned that some of the maggots might have escaped the man's house
and gotten into the soil, where they could become flies and then mate.
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- ``We are taking every appropriate measure
to prevent the larvae from spreading,'' said Dr. Chris Bishop, a veterinarian
with the state agriculture department.
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- Second Case Of Flesh Eating Bacteria
Confirmed
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- PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Two cases of the
flesh-eating bacteria have surfaced at a Philadelphia hospital.
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- A 38-year-old man was in critical condition
Saturday at St. Agnes Medical Center after having undergone surgery during
the week to save his leg from the bacterial disease, also known as necrotizing
fasciitis.
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- The name of the man, who is from Trevose,
about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia, was not released.
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- On Thursday, 17-year-old James Brown
of Philadelphia was rushed to a Delaware County hospital for emergency
surgery to remove skin damaged by the flesh-eating bacteria. Brown was
in critical condition at Crozer-Chester Medical Center on Saturday.
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- Necrotizing fasciitis infects 500 to
1,500 Americans a year and is fatal in about 30 percent of cases, according
to the Centers for Disease Control.
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- Both victims developed necrotizing fasciitis
after being admitted for strep throat, hospital officials said.
Baby Rosa Goes Home
(NORTHRIDGE) -- Baby Rosa is going home to Oxnard after more
than a month at Northridge Hospital Medical Center battling the so-called
flesh-eating bacteria.
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- The one-year- old baby underwent oxygen therapy and two
skin graft surgeries after being admitted in the beginning of July with
the disease. During the first surgery, surgeons used cadaver skin and in
the second operation, they used Rosa's own skin which they say has adhered
100-percent.
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- Rosa Olvera is now drinking regular formula and eating
baby food. Hospital officials held a birthday party for her before she
left.
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