CBS46 : reported that Woman loses several fingers, toes to rare strep throat infection

(Source: WATE via CNN)Shelby Smith lost six fingers and two toes after surviving a rare, life-threatening case of strep throat. Shelby Smith lost six fingers and two toes after surviving a rare, life-threatening case of strep throat. Smith's case followed that of a father of three in Michigan, who had a quadruple amputation after a similar strep throat infection. (Source: WATE via CNN)KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE/CNN) -- A Tennessee woman feels lucky to be alive after surviving a rare strain of strep throat. Dr. Jeffry King, one of Smith's doctors, said she had a very aggressive form of the strep throat bacteria.

Manitoba mother loses three limbs to strep infection

Soon, the 28-year-old Manitoba mother of two had lost both legs and her right arm to an incredibly aggressive strep infection. "I realized it was serious when the doctor told me that I might lose my arm," Cari said. "Her sister bought her stuff like Advil flu, orange juice, and you know, thinking it was just a flu," her mother, Loretta Kirkness, said. But it wasn't the flu -- it was group A streptococcus, a bacteria often found in the throat and on the skin. According to Manitoba Health, the group A streptococcus bacteria can be responsible for a broad range of illnesses, including a simple sore throat.

Woman loses fingers, toes after deadly strep throat infection

"There was a pretty big chance I could have died," Shelby Smith told Fox 6. "Either buckle under the pressure or I can pick myself up and make a new normal," Smith told Fox 6 of her missing fingers. A Tennessee woman who nearly died after a rare strep throat infection said she feels lucky to have escaped missing only a few fingers and toes after reading a similar story about a Michigan patient last week. "I'd say this is one of the most life-threatening illnesses that we see as far as bacterial infection," King told Fox 6. Dr. Jeffry King, Smith's doctor, told Fox 6 that her case was extremely rare, with only a few hundred reported in the U.S. each year.


collected by :Lucy William
To follow all the new news about

VIRUSES and INFECTIONS