A new mother from England recently developed a rash on her stomach a few days after giving birth to her daughter. Charleigh Chatterton, a 27-year-old finance administrator, was diagnosed with necrotising fasciitis, a rare bacterial infection, the BBC reported. Necrotising fasciitis is also known as "flesh-eating disease", and is mostly caused by group A Streptococcus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Other bacteria that can cause necrotising fasciitis include Vibrio vulnificus, a pathogen that lives in water. The disease spreads quickly in the body, and can even be fatal.
According to a BBC report, Chatterton's rash was "as hot to touch as a boiling kettle", and she had severe flu symptoms. Doctors warned her family that she might not survive.
The report said that Chatterton underwent multiple tests which came back clear, but her condition was deteriorating. Therefore, they conducted a scan, which revealed pockets of gas underneath her tissue, and made them realise that she was suffering from necrotising fasciitis.
The doctors recommended immediate surgery to remove a large amount of dead tissue from her skin, and to stop the flesh-eating bug from spreading, the report said.
ALSO READ | Are Mental Health Disorders More Prevalent In Women Than In Men? Experts Say It Is Not So Simple
After remaining sedated for three days, Chatterton woke up to two large wounds on her stomach. The doctors left the wounds open for six days to allow her body to recover.
Two weeks after her surgery, Chatterton was able to leave the hospital.
ALSO READ | The Science Of Health: Which Diseases Are Women More Prone To Than Men? Here's What Experts Say
More about necrotising fasciitis
According to the CDC, accurate diagnosis, rapid antibiotic treatment and surgery are essential to stop the spread of the disease. The causative bacteria of necrotising fasciitis most commonly enters the body through the skin via cuts and scrapes, insect bites, surgical wounds, burns and puncture wounds, among others.
There are some cases in which people can contract necrotising fasciitis after blunt trauma, which refers to an injury that does not break the skin.
ALSO READ | Science For Everyone: Why Colonising Mars Is Still Far From Reality
The flesh-eating disease is rarely contagious, which is why doctors usually do not prescribe preventive antibiotics to close contacts of people with necrotising fasciitis.
The disease is called necrotising fasciitis because "necrotising" means the "death of tissues", and "fasciitis" means "inflammation of the fascia, or the tissue under the skin that surrounds nerves, blood vessels, muscles and fat.
ALSO READ | World Schizophrenia Day: Schizophrenia Is Beyond Hallucinations And Delusions. Know Its Unusual Symptoms
The early symptoms of necrotising fasciitis include a red, warm or swollen area that spreads quickly, fever, and severe pain. The later symptoms of the disease include ulcers, blisters, black spots on the skin, pus coming out from the infected area, fatigue, changes in the colour of the skin, dizziness, diarrhoea, or nausea.
Since the flesh-eating disease is a very serious illness, the patient must receive immediate care in a hospital, and is usually made to undergo prompt surgery.