Necrotizing Fasciitis is a relentless kind of bacterial disease of the soft tissues. The bacteria are usually referred to as flesh-eating bacteria for the reason that they speedily move through the body and reason tissue to decay and become gangrenous. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 500 to 1500 cases of necrotizing fasciitis occur in the United States each year. Although anyone can develop this infection, people with incurable or chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease, and people with breaks in their skin, such as a cut from surgery or sores from chicken pox, are more susceptible. It is a rare bacterial infection that can destroy skin and the soft tissues beneath it, including fat and the tissue covering the muscles (fascia). Because these tissues often die rapidly, a person with necrotizing fasciitis is sometimes said to be infected with "flesh-eating" bacteria, especially Streptococcus pyrogenes. Necrotizing fasciitis is very rare but serious. Around 30% of those who develop necrotizing fasciitis die from the disease. Many people who get necrotizing fasciitis are in good health prior to the infection. (Barrett, J. (1999)
The symptoms of necrotizing fasciitis consist of fever, relentless pain, and a crimson, sore puffiness, which spreads fast. Death can take place in 12 to 24 hours. When the disease spreads along the layers of tissue that surround muscle (the fascia), it is called necrotizing fasciitis. When the disease spreads into the muscle tissue, it is called necrotizing myositis. In cases of necrotizing fasciitis, bacteria attack under the skin, causing tissue to become red, hot, and swollen, decay, and eventually die. The bacteria may also produce toxins that cause shock, a condition in which the heart, lungs, kidneys and other body systems begin to fail....
