The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health announced they are investigating two cases of necrotizing fasciitis in elderly women.
The first case, an 80-year-old woman with chronic illness, presented with fever and painful swelling of her right forearm on September 7 and was admitted to United Christian Hospital (UCH) on September 8. Operations were performed on September 8 and 9 to remove the dead tissue. She is currently in the Intensive Care Unit in a serious condition.
The clinical diagnosis was right forearm NF. Her right forearm tissue culture yielded Vibrio vulnificus upon laboratory testing by UCH.
The second case is a 72-year-old woman with chronic illness who presented with fever, vomiting, diarrhea and left leg pain and swelling since September 8 and was admitted to United Christian Hospital (UCH) on September 9. An operation was performed to remove the dead tissue. She is currently in the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition.
The clinical diagnosis was left lower limb NF. Her blood culture yielded Vibrio vulnificus upon laboratory testing by UCH.
Neither woman had a recent travel history and home contacts are asymptomatic.
“NF is a serious bacterial infection of the soft tissue and fascia. It can destroy tissue and cause death within 12 to 24 hours after infection,” a spokesman for the CHP explained. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
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