An 11-year-old boy in the United States died from a benign twisted ankle he suffered while running on a treadmill, leading to a flesh eating infection.
The family of the boy named Jesse Brown told Fox News that he was a healthy boy studying in the fifth grade at school who rode motocross and was always on the go before he twisted his ankle on a treadmill, possibly scratching himself, a few weeks ago, which set off a series of events that resulted in his death.
A few weeks ago, Jesse Brown suffered an ankle injury while using a treadmill. Some days later, his family discovered that his entire leg was covered in what seemed to be splotchy, purple, and red blotches that resembled bruises. Shortly after that, physicians informed Brown that he had a group A strep infection that developed into flesh eating bacteria. Brown was then admitted to an intensive care unit.
"They said that because he rolled his ankle, that's likely where the infection attacked it. Because it was already weak," Megan Brown, Jesse Brown's cousin, said.
Invasive strep-a cases among children in the United States have increased recently, according to paediatrician Dr. Candice Jones of Orlando.
"Some of the speculation has been that some of those cases started after respiratory infections, and we had been seeing an uptick in those types of infections anyway post-pandemic. There are thus several routes of entry through which these bacteria can cause mild to severe infection and even death," Dr. Jones explained.
Group-A strep is the same bacteria that causes strep throat.
Dr. Jones told Fox News that most cases are not as severe, but in very rare cases, it can cause a secondary infection like flesh-eating disease. She said symptoms to look out for include swelling, redness, a foul smell, and fever.
Bacteria called group A Streptococcus (group A strep) can cause many different infections. These infections range from minor illnesses to very serious and deadly diseases, according to the CDC.
