Bronx Girl Dies From Flesh-Eating Bacteria

April 20, 2005
AP
WNBC

NEW YORK -- A 10-year-old Bronx girl has died from flesh-eating bacteria, a rare and invasive form of the same bug that causes strep throat and scarlet fever.

Nathera Masoud had never suffered any serious health problems before contracting necrotizing fasciitis, an infection caused Group A streptococcus bacteria, the Daily News reported Tuesday. She died Friday.

"She was so strong," the girl's mother, Daisy Masoud, told the Daily News. "She fought it but there was nothing she could do. ... She was a wonderful kid."

Necrotizing fasciitis is a fast-moving form of the Group A strep bacteria that can destroy skin and the soft tissues beneath it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are between 500 and 1,500 cases of necrotizing fasciitis in the United States each year. Around 20 percent of those who develop necrotizing fasciitis die from the disease.

Nathera first started feeling ill around April 2 when she complained of a sharp pain near her armpit, her mother said. Her condition worsened, and tests at Montefiore Medical Center on April 12 confirmed that her tissues were under attack from the bacteria. Three days later she was dead.

Officials at Public School/Middle School 95, where Nathera was a fifth grader, sent a letter home to parents on Monday indicating that the disease is not spread through casual contact. But shaken parents said they were concerned.

"I can't help but worry," said Linda Colon, whose son is in the same third grade class as Nathera's brother. "They informed us and everything, but I still worry."

Officials from the school and the city Department of Health planned to meet with parents Wednesday evening to address their fears.

http://www.wnbc.com/health/4392656/detail.html