Man, 55, develops rare flesh-eating disease after contracting common childhood virus READ MORE: Flesh-eating bacteria cases expected to DOUBLE in next 20 years GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING By Cassidy Morrison Senior Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com Published: 21:21, 16 September 2024 | Updated: 21:48, 16 September 2024 e-mail View comments A middle-aged man diagnosed with the virus that causes chicken pox and shingles suffered a rare and potentially life-threatening infection that ate away at the flesh on his chest. The 55-year-old man being treated for shingles went to the hospital with extreme swelling in his chest and a large open sore leaking a foul-smelling fluid, which doctors discovered to be a rare complication of the herpes zoster virus - also known as shingles.
The flesh-eating infection, known medically as necrotizing fasciitis , is typically caused by bacterial infections. Though rare, it can develop after being infected with the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles. The severe rash gives way to open soars that welcome invading bacteria, which degrades skin tissue.
Doctors used a vacuum-like device to drain the abscess after doctors removed layers of dead tissue Your browser does not support iframes. The patient was being treated by doctors in Najran, Saudi Arabia , for shingles, a painful rash most commonly seen in older adults who had chickenpox as children. Even after a person recovers from chickenpox, the herpes zoster virus remains dormant in the person’s .