Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
A 20-year-old Chinese chef has had his left arm amputated to save his life after his little finger was pricked while handling a fish and he quickly suffered a severe bacterial infection.
The incident took place in the district of Lingui in the city of Guilin located in the south-eastern Chinese province of Guangxi when the chef suffered a 2-millimetre puncture on his left little finger while handling an unspecified fish.
The chef, identified as Mr Li, thought that rinsing the wound with clean water would be fine. However, due to the small injury, his left arm ended up being amputated by two-thirds to save his life.
On the evening of 18th May, the little finger of Mr Li’s punctured left hand gradually turned purple and black, the palm of his hand was swollen, and the pain was said to be unbearable.
In just eight hours, the chef suffered from septic shock and extensive soft tissue necrosis in the middle and distal part of his left forearm. To save his life, doctors had to carry out an amputation.
According to the news site Baidu, the chef was infected with Vibrio vulnificus, a rod-shaped, pathogenic bacteria present in marine environments. Vibrio vulnificus is related to Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera.
If a person’s wound comes into contact with this bacteria, the tissue of the wounded part can ulcerate and die in mild cases, and in severe cases, it can cause multiple organ failure and death.
Hospital spokesperson Xiang Shulin said that Vibrio vulnificus is found in many types of seafood such as oysters, crabs, and especially shellfish.
