According to a medical journal, a New England teenager had his legs and fingers amputated after developing organ failure from eating leftover food at a restaurant.
The 19-year-old boy, who was identified only as JC, was diagnosed with a potentially deadly bacterial infection called neisseria meningitides, which causes a person’s blood to clot and liver to fail, Newsweek.
He also developed a deadly rash known as skin necrosis, “Purpura Fulminans,” which is a rare and severe complication of meningococcal septicemia, the news outlet reported.
This case was first reported in The New England Journal of MedicineMarch 2021 issue. Newsweek reported that a YouTube clip depicting the teenage’s story was viewed more then 900,000.
According to the journal, the teen had ate leftover rice, chicken, lo mein, and chicken from a restaurant. He began vomiting 20 hours after eating the food. He also had chest pain, shortness and blurry vision. “multiple episodes of emesis occurred, with vomitus that was either bilious or red-brown.”
His symptoms escalated to chills and generalized weakness. They also became more severe with chest pain, shortness-of-breath, headaches, blurry sight, chest pain, diffuse myalgias, chronic fatigue, chest pain, weakening, and persistently worsening diffuse myalgias. According to the journal, his skin started to turn purple and began to discolor.
The boy was taken to the Massachusetts General Hospital pediatric intensive care unit. He was treated for shock and organ failure. Skin mottling and other conditions were also addressed. “rapidly progressive reticular rash, the journal said.
His temperature soared to a dangerously high 105F and he had a higher than average heart rate of 166bp for his age, Newsweek reported.
In order to save the boy, doctors needed to amputate both of the teenager’s legs below the knee and different parts of his fingers, the journal said.
The teen’s friend, who also had eaten the leftovers, said he threw up once but experienced no other reaction.
Doctors learned that the patient had only received one of three doses of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine without a booster, and had also only had one dose of the serogroup B meningococcal vaccine out of the two or three doses recommended by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, People reported.
According to the Mayo Clinic,Perishable foods such as meat, poultry and eggs should be refrigerated quickly to ensure food safety. Food should not remain out for more than two hours at room temperature, or longer than an hour at temperatures higher than 90 degrees.
“Uncooked food, such as sandwiches or cold salads, should also be consumed or refrigerated immediately.” the Mayo Clinic says. “Your goal is to reduce the time a food is in the ‘danger zone’ — between 40 and 140F (4 and 60 C) — when bacteria can quickly multiply.”