Second case of flesh-eating bacteria reported in South Carolina

May 17, 2012 – SOUTH CAROLINA – A second case of flesh-eating bacteria has been reported in South Carolina as a Georgia woman continues to battle the same kind of infection. Lana Kuykendall, 36, is in critical condition fighting a similar infection, her husband says. Doctors have removed skin and tissue from her legs. She is on a ventilator. In Augusta, Georgia, meanwhile, 24-year-old Aimee Copeland continues to battle a flesh-eating bacteria. Doctors already have amputated her leg and removed part of her abdomen. Her father says doctors probably will amputate her fingers to halt the bacteria’s spread. Copeland contracted the flesh-devouring bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila when she fell from a zip line May 1 and cut her leg. The gash required 22 staples, but days later, still in pain, she returned to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with necrotizing fasciitis. The psychology student is on life support and has since had a tracheotomy. An unrelated case of necrotizing fasciitis may be responsible for Kuykendall’s hospitalization in South Carolina. She gave birth to twins on May 7 but returned to the hospital days later after noticing a rapidly expanding bruise on her leg. Doctors have since removed dead skin and tissue from both of her legs. Kuykendall’s husband, Darren, said his wife is suffering from flesh-eating bacteria, though doctors have not publicly confirmed the diagnosis. Copeland is also on a ventilator. Still, Copeland’s father and Kuykendall’s husband say they remain positive about the women’s conditions. Various bacteria are responsible for the condition called necrotizing fasciitis, in which the bug attacks healthy tissue and destroys it. The bacteria are common in the environment but rarely cause a serious infection. When they do, the body’s immune system is almost always able to fight them off. –KVIA