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Message no. 1
From: Luke Kendall <luke@********.CANON.OZ.AU>
Subject: Killer disease news
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 11:55:36 +1000
I just thought I'd pass on some facts on this bacteria that's currently
in the news. From the social mailing list here at work (posted by an
opthalmologist):

> Well some more information on the "killer disease"
>
> >The latest about the 'plague' from this morning's radio is 9 dead in the UK
> >and 1 afflicted here (not sure if he/she is dead).
>
> The report I heard said 7 in the UK and 1 in Aust - Adelaide.
> The person in adelaide is under treatment.
>
> >The bug can kill in days
>
> The side effects are the killer. The bug - streptococcus pyogenes -
> produces a toxin, or waste product as a result of replication. This toxin
> has the effect of killing off any surrounding tissue causing a splitting
> along cellular lines thereby opening up the tissue for more attack.
> The bacteria moves along the line of least resistance leaving necrotic
> or dead tissue in its path. This process continues until the host or
> food supply is exhausted (oh what a simple system of conquest).
>
> Treatment is via pencillin and surgery for affected areas since the
> tissue is dead and can only be replaced by skin grafts.
>
> The bacterium is a natural pathogen to humans and does exist within our
> natural bacterial flora, for example, the lower eyelid contains all the
> natural bacteria sufficient to cause serios eye infections which are
> only controlled by a natural bacteriostatic product of the tear film
> and the mechanical effect of blinking.

Apparently the disease has been around for a decade or more, and there
are occasional small outbreaks. I've heard TV news reporters claim that
it can consume flesh at the rate of 15cm of fatty tissue per hour (!),
and other tissue at several centimetres per hour.

This one just seems to me to be representative of the type of disease
kicking around in 2055. The speed of it is what amazes me. Deaths can
occur within 2 hours of being infected; a day or so seems more average.

Hope all you runners know a mage with a Cure Disease spell...

luke
Message no. 2
From: Graeme Collin <graeme@****.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: Killer disease news
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 12:23:11 BST
> Apparently the disease has been around for a decade or more, and there
> are occasional small outbreaks.

Well, it's actually been around a bit longer than that. With the discovery of
penicillin, it was able to be treat/controlled, but prior to that it was fairly
epidemic. (or so I'm told). Also there's supposed to be an *average* of five
people die with this each year. The general speculation is that the current
problems are due to the disease gaining immunity to the penicillin.
Apparently, they have a few deaths across europe from it each year too, but
don't make such a big issue about it (according to last night's news). The
current outbreak here has hit the news on the continent, highlighting to them
the panic we are reportedly in over it, and they're saying that we should be
calmer about it, like them. I don't know whether they tell their populaces
about how many deaths they average, or whether they are finding an increase
in the occurences, but we *do* seem pretty adept at panicking over just about
anything slightly different.

Please note that the above is simply my own interpretation of what has been
reported over this matter, and as such may be significantly lacking in fact.
Oh well. (shrug). My apologies to anyone who takes exception (anywhere) to any
of the above, no offence was intended. Anyone can feel free to correct me :)

Graeme. (Not worried about it - YET)

-------------------+----------------------------------------------------
Graeme Collin. | "There's those that know,
| There's those that don't know,
graeme@****.co.uk | And there's those that don't know they don't know"
| - Whitbread Best Scotch Beer Ad!
-------------------+----------------------------------------------------

BTW, the last I heard (last night I think), was that the count was 12 SUSPECTED
deaths here. (Note the emphasis on suspected.)
Message no. 3
From: Gian-Paolo Musumeci <musumeci@***.LIS.UIUC.EDU>
Subject: Re: Killer disease news
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 08:35:17 -0500
Heh. I'm not sure how to react to this, as I'm going to Italy over the summer.
;-)

I'd prefer not to be dead. =) This disease sounds rather nasty...

Morbid question: does it actually "destroy" (ie convert-to-energy) tissue? If
that is the case, wouldn't there be a heat loss...and, also, if it doesn't
toally destroy the tissues, do the victims look like liches (trailing bits of
flesh on the floor)?

Morbid question, sorry if it has offended. Just curious.
Message no. 4
From: Micah Levy <M.Levy@**.UCL.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: Killer disease news
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 15:03:36 +0100
It seems to turn into a particularly nasty form of gangrene (necrosis). This has
been
headline news here for the last few days, but across Europe there are about
30 cases every year. The skin rots away in hours...just heard the 14th uk
victim has died on the radio after having 2 amputations.
However, all these people dying are those who have had one type of operation
or another and seem to have contracted it. It doesn't hit at random and even
if it did, the probability is tiny (30 cases out of a population across
Europe of around 350 million-I think, so don't worry at all about it.
Micah Levy
Message no. 5
From: "S.K. Khoo" <S.K.Khoo@*********.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: Killer disease news
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 14:59:04 +0100
Sorry, boys and girls - don't believe everything you hear in the news
- only 7 were affected here in the UK ( mmm, correct at time of posting ) and
only 4 ( er, could be 5 ) dead ( and one of those was 3 months ago ).

Also, the bacteria was known to scientists as early as the turn of the
century - not just a decade ago as some of them will have you believe.

Anyway, wasn't VITAS something like this ( can't remember what the
initials stand for so I don't know what it is ) ?
Message no. 6
From: Graeme Collin <graeme@****.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: Killer disease news
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 16:32:28 BST
> Heh. I'm not sure how to react to this, as I'm going to Italy over the summer.
> I'd prefer not to be dead. =) This disease sounds rather nasty...

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much (I'm not). It doesn't look as if
it's got quite that far yet. AIDS is much more widespread, as is cancer, or road
kills. Streptococcus-A (sp?) was a BIG issue a couple of hundred years ago,
before the advent of penicillin, but now .....
It can be treat. There are people who're contracting it who're surviving. I
shouldn't think it would be too long before they get another cure. As opposed
to AIDS, they know what they're up against.

> Morbid question: does it actually "destroy" (ie convert-to-energy) tissue?
If
> that is the case, wouldn't there be a heat loss..

Don't really know - don't really care (sorry, but that's how it goes).

> ..and, also, if it doesn't toally destroy the tissues, do the victims look
> like liches (trailing bits of flesh on the floor)?

Not quite, I don't think bits actually start "dropping off", but judging by
the pictures I've seen, it's NOT pretty :P

Graeme.
(still not alarmed - YET)
Message no. 7
From: Egil Geir Brautaset <egilbra@***.UNIT.NO>
Subject: Re: Killer disease news
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 17:44:38 +0200
What is this disease called? I heard about a disease like this on the news
yesterday, but my impression was that this was a special expression of a
much more videspread disease. I.e. It is a bacteriological disease that gets
infected by a virus causing it to change into a far more lethal type of
disease. I don't know if this is the same disease though.

Mortality rate of this bug is 25%. (They say.)


-- Egil <egilbra@***.unit.no>
Message no. 8
From: Gian-Paolo Musumeci <musumeci@***.LIS.UIUC.EDU>
Subject: Re: Killer disease news
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 11:01:40 -0500
Hmmmmmmmm. Lich-people.

Sorry if that offends anyone -- I'm just trying to see what this is like, and
analogies are my only way of trying.
Message no. 9
From: "Robert A. Hayden" <hayden@*******.MANKATO.MSUS.EDU>
Subject: Re: Killer disease news
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 11:31:49 -0500
Sounds like a form of leprosy to me....

Or something.

Of course, it's killing 'grandmothers and virgins', not nasty gay people,
so governments will actually do something about it.

____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden@*******.mankato.msus.edu
\ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=-
\/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> Political Correctness is
\/ Finger for PGP Public Key <=> P.C. for "Thought Police"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
(GEEK CODE 1.0.1) GAT d- -p+(---) c++(++++) l++ u++ e+/* m++(*)@ s-/++
n-(---) h+(*) f+ g+ w++ t++ r++ y+(*)
Message no. 10
From: Bryan Prince <WALAB@******.HH.VANDERBILT.EDU>
Subject: Re: Killer disease news
Date: Thu, 26 May 1994 12:29:58 -0600
Ok, Folks-
Here is the AP News Service story...
Stroud, England (AP)-They've seen gruesome news reports of a deadly, flesh
eating strain of strep that has killed at least two of their fellow
townspeople. But for the most part, residents of Stroud kept their traditional
British cool yesterday.
"I think you should worry if your leg is going to dissappear in a couple of
hours--you don't know what other parts you might lose," said Steve Adair, 40
, landlord of the Fleece Inn pub outside the small town in Gloucestershire,
western England. "We reckon it's the beer that keeps it away,"he joked.
There have been seven confirmed cases of necrotizing fasciitis, a potentially
fatal illness triggered by strep, in and around Gloucestershire. Two of the
victims died at Stroud General Hospital. Headlines like "Killer bug ate my
face," and "Dither and you Die" spread across the tabloids yesterday
morning.
Government Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kenneth Caiman issued a statement last
night saying there was "no firm evidence" that all the cases reported in
the news were necrotizing fasciitis, and that there was no evidence of any
increase in the normal incidence of the illness.
All mispellings, misquotes, or mistakes are mine, and do not reflect the
editorial staff of the AP.
Bryan Prince
Message no. 11
From: Paolo Marcucci <marcucci@***.TS.ASTRO.IT>
Subject: Re: Killer disease news (fwd)
Date: Fri, 27 May 1994 08:35:20 METDST
>
> Heh. I'm not sure how to react to this, as I'm going to Italy over the summer.
> ;-)
>
> I'd prefer not to be dead. =) This disease sounds rather nasty...
>

No cases reported here. Only in the UK, some "suspected" in Germany and
the Netherlands.

Hope it doesn't move too much.

--
______________________________________________________________________
Paolo Marcucci Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste - Italy
marcucci@***.ts.astro.it http://www.oat.ts.astro.it/marcucci.html
(1.0.1) GCS/GMU d-- -p+ c++ l- u+ e* m+ s n-- h* f+? g- w+/++ t+ r+ x+
______________________________________________________________________
"Visual Basic: You'll shoot yourself in the foot, but you'll have so
much fun doing it that you won't care."
Message no. 12
From: JOHANNA BURWELL-KALES <burwell@******.EDU>
Subject: Re: Killer Disease news...
Date: Fri, 27 May 1994 13:22:15 -0700
This thing about the disease that some people are talking about
is not that large of a deal. In the U.S., USA today stated that" 500 to
1000 people a year contract the disease and only 150 to 300 people a year
die of it. Most are saved by surgery to replace the dad skin, muscle,
fat, and other things." I mean is 10 people being killed by the disease a
large deal in the U.K., I don't know? I'd like to though. Also is it true
that some british newspapers are printng gruesome photos of affected
people. The paper said that one of the headlines was " Killer Bug Ate My
Face. " Those are like headlines from a tabloid.
My views are the same as Yakko, Wakko, and Dot.

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