Flesh Eating Bacteria Lana Kuykendall: South Carolina Woman Diagnosed With Flesh-Eating Bacteria Shortly After Giving Birth

Another woman has contracted an infection from flesh-eating bacteria, according to news reports.

Lana Kuykendall, of Upstate, S.C., had just given birth to twins, when she started experiencing pain and noticed that there was a growing spot on her leg, NBC's WYFF4 reported.

GreenvilleOnline.com reported that she initially thought that it was a blood clot, so her husband, Darren, immediately took her to the hospital. However, she was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating bacteria, and required surgery. (For their full report, click here.)

Fox News reported that Kuykendall is currently in critical condition, but she is stable. She is staying at Greenville Memorial Hospital in South Carolina, where she has had four surgeries in the time-span of six days, according to Fox News.

However, WYFF4 reported that no one is sure how Kuykendall contracted the infection.

"Right now, just very worried, very upset. Still in disbelief that here is my friend, who just had these two beautiful babies, and now she is intubated upstairs, and not able to enjoy the bonding experience, and enjoy the babies," Kuykendall's friend, Krissy Davidson, told WYFF4. "We're just asking people to pray for her, and lift her up at this point."

In a separate recent case, 24-year-old Aimee Copeland of Georgia, contracted necrotizing fasciitis after suffering a fall from a homemade zipline. She has already lost a leg to the infection, and may lose her fingers, too, ABC News reported.

The risk for necrotizing fasciitis increases when a person's immune system is already weakened; when a person has other health problems like diabetes or kidney disease; when there are cuts on the skin; when the body has decreased infection resistance because of medications; and when a person has just the chickenpox or another kind of viral infection, WebMD reported.

There are about 10,000 to 15,000 necrotizing fasciitis infections each year in the U.S., with 2,000 to 3,000 deaths, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

According to the 2007 World Journal of Emergency Surgery study, necrotizing fasciitis can be hard to diagnose -- but being too slow to diagnose it carries an increased risk of death.

GreenvilleOnline.com reported that the strange spot Kuykendall noticed on her leg appeared to be a bruise with a red/black color. The World Journal of Emergency Surgery study noted that the first symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis include new wounds elsewhere from the initial infected wound (even though the original wound usually doesn't yet look infected), the sensation of pain somewhere near the original wound and flu-like symptoms.

Three or four days later, the part of the body where the infected wound is may start to swell up and dark marks and rashes may occur. The actual wound may also start to have a "bluish, white, or dark, mottled, flaky appearance," according to the study. And within four or five days, the body's blood pressure may decrease and may experience septic shock. The person may also become unconscious.

For more on Kuykendall, watch the Fox News video above.

Earlier on HuffPost:

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Comments

[Ava Fredericks]

10:20 AM on 05/18/2012

This is so sad, Dr.Oz talked about what we can do to prevent this, in Atlanta, after it happened the first time..
http://timesatlanta.com/news/causes-of-flesh-eating-bacteria/

[ParisNation]

02:08 PM on 05/22/2012

Thank you this was a very informative post. I am actually kind of paranoid about this. If my skin just so happened to have a scratch or peel I am like "OH NO FLESH EATING VIRUS", you guys should check this article out
http://timesatlanta.com/news/causes-of-flesh-eating-bacteria/

[Doveofky]

10:19 AM on 05/18/2012

On Jan. 6 2012 I too got this nasty flesh eating bacteria, I got a paper cut at work, washed it, and put a bandaid on it and went about my duties. Went home early due to not feeling well. I don't remember sat. at all, on Sunday my boyfriend made me go to a care first place, they sent me to the ER, who in turn took me to a better hospital in Louisville KY. By 2:30 am Monday morning I was in surgery. Thankfully I did not loose my arm. I do have a nasty scar where they had to leave it open, went through 3 surgeries and a skin graph to cover to area they couldn't not close. If I had waited one more day, I would have lost my arm, or my life. I owe my boyfriend my life! I pray that these ladies stay strong and fight it!

[hedonistnutritionist]

06:38 AM on 05/18/2012

In addition to hand washing, there is something we can all do to be proactive in protecting ourselves. That is, help to determine the make-up of the protective flora in your gut. Much of our immune system is in the gut and the flora living there helps us fight off the "bad guys". Eating more cultured foods like traditionally made sauerkraut and kefir is helpful and getting foods that feed harmful bacteria and yeast out of your diet is also helpful. (Like sugar and refined foods). Look up "The Body Ecology Diet" if you are interested in learning more. And for those of you out there who are going to tell me this is nonsense (it isn't), the current issue of "Scientific American" magazine has devoted it's entire current cover story to "Your Inner Ecosystem". If I knew I was going to go into a hospital ahead of time, I would make sure I was eating these foods and taking probiotics for several weeks before my stay here. But then, the best action is to be eating these foods all the time.

[Parissa]

05:41 AM on 05/18/2012

If she had the babies in a hospital, she got the infection there! Period! But, of course, the hospital will deny it 'till the cows come home! How very sad for this woman and her family ... I hope she recovers. My prayers and thoughts are with her! Those little babies need their mother and she needs them!

[verde33333]

02:29 AM on 05/18/2012

I said it before and I'll say it again, toxemia can also turn into flesh eating bacteria. Hospitals must be checked for proper sterilization. Every time somebody gets toxemia from a hospital now gets this new diagnosis all of a sudden. I would go through the hospital surgical room schedule of cleaning procedures and a list of all surgery and patients operated on in that same room that day. All surgeries should also be video taped to show everything while procedure is being done. This would end alot of malpractice being swept under the rug. These hospitals are covered under special Tork laws to protect them from liability in case of mistakes. Which make it very difficult to prove negligence and resposibility on a hospital part even when requesting all hospital records some doctors written notes are not released.

[sillibalt]

12:42 AM on 05/18/2012

This stuff seems to be showing up more frequently.

[florencebrady]

12:15 AM on 05/18/2012

Anyone else notice a "coincidence" in that both women with this horrible bacteria had recently been in hospitals?

[GOODDOC1]

12:24 AM on 05/18/2012

I haven't heard the bacteria causing this one's infection, but the other one was caused by Aeromonas Hydrophilia, which rarely colonizes hospitals. It requires a wet or damp surface to survive. (They cultured it out of the water where she fell from the zip-line.) Most often, Necrotizing Faciitis is caused by Group A Strep, or Strep Pyogenes, which also usually doesn't colonize hospitals. The one you're probably thinking of, and the one that causes more deadly infections is MRSA -- Methcillin Resistant Staph Aureus. Staph used to be easily treated by Penicillin. Now MRSA is resistant to almost everything. VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Entercolitis) and MDRTB (Multi-Drug Resistant TB) are big time killers now, because there's nothing left to treat them!

[mojo1436]

04:39 AM on 05/18/2012

Absolutely right. They did not name the infectious agent. Nor do we know how long she had been discharged from the hospital before developing symptoms. Saw a lot of Necrotizing Fasciitis (S. aureus) resulting from Brown Recluse Spider bites while in practice in Key West. These spiders are also prevalent here in SC, but as i no longer see adult patients i am not sure if the infectious agent is the same here. Will have to talk with the grown up Docs. I think NIH had a paper on this a few years ago.

[myersvr]

11:23 PM on 05/17/2012

Necrotizing Faciitis is treated with surgery, antibiotics and Hyperbaric Medicine.... I am an RN working in Hyperbarics... I have seen Hyperbarics save life and limb.... Many MD's are not familiar with hyperbarics so they do not subscribe to it.... If you want to live, prevent, or minimize amputation get Hyperbaric Treatment........You must Insist on it... NF is an anerobic infection, elevated oxygen kills the anerobe, hence saving viable tissue.... Had a post cesarian patient with NF within 2 days she improved and is alive today because we treated her immediatly..... I posted this information before for a very recent high profile case. No Hyperbarics were implemented..

[Beth Horne]

02:30 AM on 05/18/2012

You are absolutely right regarding hyperbaric medicine and it's ability to save limbs and lives!! I have type 1 Diabetes and my Diabetic Specialist has this in his office at the center and it is absolutely a necessity for people such as myself when we get an infection because we have such a compromised immune system. More physicians need to refer diabetic patients to SPECIALISTS, not just any endocrinologist, because it is such a difficult and specialized disease to treat. I went through three endocrinologists that were all nightmares to get appointments with, get decent treatment from, and who never were able to get the 'redtape' done to get my insulin pump. 38 hospitalizations (all in the ICCU) finally made me decide to seek out a higher quality of specialist, and within less than a year I had a pump and haven't been in the ICCU since! Plus he is on the ball with testing, making sure I am doing everything right and helping me stay healthy! God Bless Dr Rhinehart!!!!

[myersvr]

07:55 PM on 05/19/2012

Great to hear you are getting the treatment you deserve Beth.... Yes, we treat many DM patients with unhealing wounds.......... God bless you and Dr Rhinehart........ Have a great day Beth..........Jack

[mojo1436]

05:04 AM on 05/18/2012

I think in most of the recent cases we are hearing the patients have been far to unstable for HBO2 treatment. For it to be effective the bug must be suseptable to the oxygen enriched atmosphere. The few studies done on necrotizing fasciitis and HBO2 treatment have been small and of little statistical value. Some showed less amputations and better reactions to antibiotics but little difference in mortality. I could find no current studies in progress. I have seen how well HBO2 works in wound care, But Necrotizing Fasciitis is not always caused by anaerobic bacteria and mostly the patients get sick so fast and remain so critical that a trip to the chamber is just not indicated for such an unstable patient. If the patient is so unstable as in the zip line case that she has already coded a few times, there is no way they would risk it. Sorry i know you want the best for both these ladies, but HBO2 is not always indicated for bacteria other than anaerobic types.Keep up the good work and have a good night. Mojo

[myersvr]

07:52 PM on 05/19/2012

Hey Mojo, I understand completely what you are saying.... However; some chamber facilities are equipt to handle vent patients and critical care patients as well.... We did treat theses types of problems before; but due to buget cuts we no longer treat emergent care patients; ie., Necrotizing Faciitis., diving Bends, limb re-attachments, etc., etc. Maybe Hyperbarics will utilized more often in the future..... Probably will not though, cost prohibitive.....Have a great day...... Jack

[KentuckyGirls4]

10:09 PM on 05/17/2012

So sad that this happy occasion has to be short-lived due to something like this. Unfortunately, she probably contracted this AT the hospital to begin with. Sadly, I do not like to visit anyone in the hospital due to the unsanitary conditions that are present (usually not visible to the naked eye). Prayers for this family for quick healing & wellness.

[mojo1436]

05:12 AM on 05/18/2012

Most of the bacteria that cause Necrotizing Fasciitis live on us and among us.Like the one that causes strep throat. Thru some kink in a persons immune system these mostly harmless bugs go into a replicating frenzy, releasing toxins and killing off all healthy tissue in its path. Few of these bacteria are routinely found in hospital culture survellance. But if you were to culture your keyboard right now, it would scare the sh** out of you, because many of the germs that cause Necrotizing Fasciitis are all over it. Now go wash your hands and stop blaming hospitals.

[hrnsly]

10:02 PM on 05/17/2012

Has anyone tried Dimethyl Sulfoxide [DMSO]? It kills BOTH aerobic and anaerobic (subcutaneous) bacteria, and I've never seen anything like the way it heals wounds. You find it in the equestrian section of pet stores. Why the FDA has not tested it for human use is beyond me. I've been using it for years. It heals necrotic septic infections.

[giftoflife898]

11:55 PM on 05/17/2012

I remember when that came out years ago. In high school they put some on a cotton ball and when you got some on your hand you could taste garlic.

[D Glover]

09:52 AM on 10/23/2012

Also, colloidal silver ought to be good at treating fasciitis, especially if someone found out the exact parameters in nanometers for ideal cluster sizes of silver ions, say less than 25 nanometers for instance is good for killing certain pathogens, so a specific ionic cluster size will be just right for fasciitis, and silver sol (colloidal silver) could then be injected into the area infected, whilst the outside of the wound is bathed in it.

If anyone is interested on a few extra tips on how to make colloidal silver, from simplest methodology right up to pharmaceutical quality, please have a browse through Mothman777's Blog, see the essay titled: "SBO’s And Silver Sols, And How To Manufacture Your Own Silver Sol".

A scientific study has demonstrated that very low concentrations of silver can be utilized to destroy MRSA for instance, as long as the silver particles (groups of silver ions in clusters) are very small, averaging 25 nanometers.

[D Glover]

09:51 AM on 10/23/2012

I love DMSO; I just drank 15ml neat and and followed it with a couple of chasers of fresh-pressed orange juice to get rid of the vodka/turps taste, which worked perfectly. My mind and thinking process feels crystal clear a couple of minutes after drinking it, so it must have nuked some bugs in my brain I reckon.

The makers of Soil-Based Organisms, claim that their product can help with fasciitis too, and Manuka Honey is also good for fasciitis too.

I bought a Chinese ozone machine through Amazon for 30 or 40 quid a while back, and it is terrific, I am thinking that just to switch it on and blast away at any infected area with ozone, pressing the diffuser stone against the wound would work great; I bet someone somewhere has done piles of research on just that. I see that earlier on this thread, a few comments up, someone has mentioned how oxygen is used in hospitals by another method to treat fasciitis, using Hyberbaric method to apply oxygen under pressure to the area, so oxygen definitely works on fasciitis.

I am wondering also about Russian phage medicine, bugs that eat other bugs; In Russia everybody has the choice to opt for that if they wish, rather than antibiotics to treat any pathogenic illness.

[falcon38a]

09:57 PM on 05/17/2012

These flesh eating bacteria cases are frightening. I hope our medical professionals can find better ways to treat them as the cases seem to be increasing each year.

[CerealMom]

09:43 PM on 05/17/2012

OMG...People die from this on a regular basis,many more are disfigured for life,but only now is it important enough to report on.

[mojo1436]

05:28 AM on 05/18/2012

The CDC has been tracking it for years and it's been the same with the media.The stories average about once a month more so in the summer tome and in warmer areas of the country. But do to the horrible battle the patient has to fight most families opt not to feed the media, but instead choose to be with their loved ones. The proper info is out there. You have the whole world at your finger tips. Don't get scared, get educated.

[NotALeaf]

09:37 PM on 05/17/2012

Probably from the hospital. A woman I know delivered at a hospital where one of the nurses that was helping during the delivery had strep and she got it from that. Just about killed her.

[RobTheBl0gger2]

09:02 PM on 05/17/2012

What's up with all these cases? Has the number been increasing or no one knew about this until recently?

[natal plum]

09:08 PM on 05/17/2012

No, its been known. Just started getting more publicity with the frantic search for hourly news stories by the web sites. Not to say this isn't a lamentable and horrific tragedy for the gal. Hope she recovers.

[southpierlight]

11:12 PM on 05/17/2012

As a nurse I can tell you these bacteria are becoming more prevelant as we see more & more people taking antibiotics. Our systems as well as the bacteria become used to it, and the bacteria mutate (viruses replicate). It is out for survival just like us human beings. This is how superbugs are created. You wouldn't believe how much bacteria is out in the world! Staph grows on our arms & in our noses. Strep naturally lives in our mouths. A form of strep (Streptococcus viridians) causes our cavities. I honestly think everyone in high school or college should have a microbiology class as a graduation requirement. If people had basic knowledge of microorganisms, we would eliminate so much disease!

[AnalyzeThat]

11:43 PM on 05/17/2012

That is a great idea. I wish the medical associations would partner with k - 12 and include this in the curricula. Many kids (and adults for that matter) don't understand the importance of cleanliness to keep disease under control or be proactive when something may be wrong. Of course, we don't want to create a generation of germophobs either :-)

[Beth Horne]

02:36 AM on 05/18/2012

I totally agree! If people who bit their nails only knew the germs they were digesting they would never bite them again! You would be safer eating your dog's poo! I took Microbiology in college and that really opened my eyes...turned out my mother (who is an RN) was right all these years! And people need to quit using all the antibacterial soaps and crap! We need a certain amount of germs to keep our systems working right!! And for God's sake, VACCINATE your kids on time!!! this whole no vaccine craze is idiotic-why people are listening to Jenny McCarthy is beyond me! Science has proven there is NO LINK between Autism etc. and vaccines! But your kids can sure as hell DIE from the diseases those vaccines prevent!!

[Marie Brandon]

08:43 PM on 05/17/2012

I am not surprised that when you go into a hospital - you might come out with more ailments than when you went in. Because of the economy, the unisured, and the cutbacks from insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid, hospitals have cut staff and as a result you have dirtier hospitals. I wish all of you with this terrible disease well.