Flesh-Eating Bacteria Kills Killer

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dd this to the numerous reasons to never go to prison: the healthcare there isn’t exactly first-rate. A convicted killer serving a 40-year sentence in an Illinois prison died last week from necrotizing fasciitis, more popularly known as the flesh-eating bacteria. Robert J. Turner was transferred to the University of Illinois Medical Center from the Dixon Correctional Center, where he was suffering from what the Chicago Tribune refers to as “a number of maladies, including cirrhosis of the liver.”

NF is caused by the group A Strep bacteria, the same bacteria that causes Strep throat.

Two days after his transfer, Turner died and the autopsy revealed that the cause of death was necrotizing fasciitis and sepsis (blood poisoning). 

While it may be hard to find much sympathy for a man convicted of killing an 18-year-old during a home invasion, dying from necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a horrible way to go. NF is caused by the group A Strep bacteria, the same bacteria that causes strep throat. The symptoms of NF include diarrhea, nausea, fever, confusion, dizziness, weakness, and extreme pain.

Eventually the affected part of the body begins to swell and turn purple. Then large dark spots begin to appear, and these eventually turn into blisters filled with black fluid. If antibiotics fail to halt the infection, the affected body part is usually amputated. 

So remember, boys and girls, stay in school, stay out of trouble, and stay away from the flesh-eating bacteria.