Image by peretzpup via Flickr
When Hannele Cox, a 13 year old teenager, was only 8 years old, she was helping her family by cleaning the family’s fish tank out. At that time Hannele scraped her hand causing her to contract a very rare infection called mycobacterium marinum also known as “fish tank granuloma”. According to 7News in Denver that was 5 years ago and the bacteria has since become drug-resistant and has transformed into a strain of “superbug” which is eating at the girl’s bones as well as tissues in the hand that is infected and could evidently lead to amputation. Cox told ABC News “I can’t use the hand at all. I’m in pain all the time.”
The teenager is not able to keep playing volleyball, ride her horses or do gymnastics because of this bacterial infection which has become very incapacitating. The 8th grader’s work at school has been affected negatively by this infection which is only diagnosed in 100 to 150 individuals each year. She is not able to write with her right hand which is her dominant hand as well as the hand that is infected. This hand is constantly shaking with pain.
Hannele has been thru multiple antibiotic treatments as well as 2 surgeries at Loma Linda Medical Center as well as UCLA Medical center, in California over the years. She has come to Denver for a new treatment at National Jewish Health Center located In Denver later this week. National Jewish Health Center surgeons are planning on implanting bead of antibiotics into her hand believing that this treatment will stop the bacteria from growing and allow her to keep her hands.
Bacteria that are drug resistant are more and more becoming prevalent and are cropping up in many hospitals in the US and are also spreading outside the USA, public health officials have reported.
Another antibiotic-resistant superbug is also spreading thru health-care facilities inSouthern California.
As resistance towards antibiotics become more common a much greater need for alternative treatments has become necessary. But, despite a push for new antibiotic therapies there instead has been a decline in the number of newly approved drugs. Antibiotic resistance is therefore posing a significant problem in healthcare today.
Related articles
- Home-made honey could fight superbugs (physorg.com)
- How Superbugs Will Affect Our Health Care Costs (theatlantic.com)
- Antibiotic-resistant superbugs ‘could take us to pre-Penicillin era’ (news.bioscholar.com)
- Death wish: Routine use of vital antibiotics on farms threatens human health (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
- 2 of my female cousins died from these strains of staph infections please read (bonjupatten.wordpress.com)
- Routine use of vital antibiotics on farms threatens human health (thetruthiswhere.wordpress.com)
As My World Turns 
and Hawaii is ripe for it, each year, thousands end up in the hospital, the authorities will not ewll them, that the reefs are contan=minated by septics, and sewage, money rules, so, its thier liitle secret, just like the fgood poisoning, o yes, its gets deep, deeper than deep. Lies and more lies, and the phrarmo companies are VERY happy, mo money, mo drugs. More doctors who are not educated, as an ol man, it is plain to see we have a nation of neophite doctors, so sad, i think God for leavinng me with some intelligence,at least my elevator goes up
By: Kimo on June 25, 2011
at 8:39 PM
you , as i read more of your postts, are very intelligent, thank you for the info, and your attempts to try to educate.
By: lolokimo on June 25, 2011
at 8:41 PM