Residents of Victoria are being warned to be on the lookout for a potentially deadly flesh-eating bacteria after a Melbourne grandmother feared she would have to have her leg amputated, the Herald Sun is reporting.
Fiona Wordie, aged 66, said she initially just had an itchy foot, with a red mosquito-bite like welt on her foot. But instead of healing like a normal bite, the welt grew into a large ulcer that Ms Wordie says left her “in agony”.
I got nerve pain in the wound, and that is the worst pain I have ever felt,” she said.
“It was shocking. I thought I was going to lose my leg.”
Doctors diagnosed the ulcer as a Buruli ulcer, also known as a Bairnsdale ulcer, named for the Victorian town. Ms Wordie said she believes she may have contracted the bacteria that causes the ulcer from an infected birdhouse on her property.
“A possum lives in there,” she said.
It’s believed this bacteria is passed to humans through mosquitos that have drank blood from infected possums. Thankfully, there is no evidence that it can pass from human to human.
If contracted, an infection can form in the subcutaneous tissue, the bottom layer of the skin, which can cause ulcers and skin loss.
So, be careful around possums and make sure you keep the Aeroguard close this summer.
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