Man in Tampa Bay infected with man-eating bacteria after being bitten by relative

Editor’s Note: This story contains images that some people may find offensive.

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Donnie Adams said he was surprised when he first felt pain in a small, probably quarter-sized, raised bump on his left thigh.

The only explanation the Riverview man could come up with was that it happened two days earlier when he intervened to stop the disturbance at a family gathering.

After appearing to have been stabbed, he visited the emergency room at HCA Florida Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg on February 14 to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics.

Three days later, Adams, 52, was back in the hospital, barely able to walk. This time, he was rushed to emergency surgery, where general surgeon and wound care specialist Dr. Fritz Brink struggled to save his leg and possibly his life.

From the incision made by Blink’s scalpel, almost bright red rotting flesh was exposed from the knee to the crotch. About 70% of the tissue in the front of Adams’ thigh had to be removed. Follow-up surgery was also required to remove some of the remaining infected flesh.

And the doctors have no doubt that the infection started most of all with a bite on his leg by one of his relatives.

Man-eating bacteria are known to pose a danger to swimmers and others who enter the Gulf of Mexico with wounds and cuts.known as Necrotizing fasciitis, the rapidly spreading bacteria destroy tissue surrounding muscles and nerves. But doctors at HCA Florida Northside Hospital said they have not seen a case of infection from another human bite like Adams.

Still, the diagnosis makes sense, says Brink. The warm, moist human mouth is the perfect breeding ground for a variety of bacteria that are normally killed by stomach acid.

However, Adams’ skin was perforated, allowing bacteria to enter the tissue layers underneath. You may never know if it’s bacteria that got in through a relative’s mouth, or airborne microbes that later infiltrated the wound.

“Human bites are dirtier than dog bites in terms of the type of bacteria they carry,” Brink said. “The presence of normal bacteria in abnormal places can be a serious problem.”

Brink warned Adams that he could come out with a sizable scar before he was anesthetized for the operation. The initial incision exuded gray dishwater, a clear sign of necrotizing fasciitis. However, Blink did not expect to encounter so many infected bodies.

Every part of the thigh he inspected involved a difficult choice.

“You’re torn between acting as aggressively as possible to stop the spread of the infection and leaving as much tissue as possible so that it doesn’t take two years to heal,” Brink said.

Had Adams waited another day to return to the hospital, the infection would likely have already spread to his abdomen and would have required admission to the intensive care unit due to the high risk of septic shock, Brink said. .

“It would have been difficult to control the infection,” he says.

Adams spent almost three weeks in hospital recovering. Adams joked that his leg was “torn by two sharks” and required up to six months of treatment after being discharged from the hospital to heal. His treatment plan included a visit to the HCA Florida Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Center at his Pasadena Hospital, where Brink used a treatment known as Wound VAC.

A sponge is inserted to replace the missing tissue and then covered with a plastic drape. Negative pressure or suction is then applied to the wound to stimulate the production of new blood vessels and accelerate the healing process.

Wound dressings were sometimes changed three times a week as needed. Brink continued to care for Adams even when the patient’s insurance no longer covered the treatment. Eventually, Adams learned how to use a wound VAC and how to change his own bandages.

Brink said the patient’s positivity and willingness to follow the recommended diet contributed to the wound healing in half the time expected.

Ms Adams, who works at a funeral home, said she didn’t feel a bite when she stepped between the two feuding families. He said he dealt with the ordeal through prayer and meditation.

“The people involved are very sad,” he said.

His leg now has a web of scars, but is fully functional except for occasional pain. He finds beauty in his scars.

“I am grateful for the recovery of my leg and the care I received,” he said.

Adams said she hoped her story would draw attention to others and encourage them to have their wounds examined by a medical professional.

“I don’t know what’s going on down there,” he said. “It can be life-threatening.”