Woman dies from flesh-eating bacteria

By Chris Paschenko

The Daily News

Published September 9, 2010

PORT BOLIVAR — A woman with an autoimmune disorder died after becoming infected with flesh-eating bacteria, officials and her family said Wednesday.

Ginger Ling, 57, of Port Bolivar, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, died Tuesday of necrotizing fasciitis, the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Although Ling cleaned shellfish, scaled flounder and ate lobster Sunday evening, it is unknown whether that caused the infection.

Necrotizing fasciitis is a condition caused by several kinds of bacteria, including Vibrio, which is common in warm salt water worldwide.

Ling’s infection hasn’t been confirmed as Vibrio, Kurt Koopmann, a spokesman for the Galveston County Health District, said.

Galveston County averages from one to three Vibrio cases annually, Koopmann said. There were two confirmed cases last year and one confirmed case this year on Aug. 9, he said. The health district doesn’t always know whether infections were fatal but knows the person infected Aug. 9 survived, Koopmann said.

“Certain folks are more susceptible to experiencing problems with it,” Koopmann said. “Those with a compromised immune system, liver disease, diabetes, cancer, any kind of medical treatment that could weaken the immune system.”

Tammy Bage said her mother was a lifelong resident of Port Bolivar and loved seafood. She took steroids since 2008 for rheumatoid arthritis, which had her wheelchair bound, Bage said.

“Sunday afternoon, mom was feeling good, making dinner, and she decided to clean some fish that was freshly caught,” Bage said. “They also cooked two lobsters purchased from a chain store.”

Before cleaning fish, Ling already had contusions on her arms because her skin was so thin from the autoimmune disorder, Bage said.

“My brother told her he was going to bring her gloves before messing with that, but she didn’t wait,” Bage said. “By Monday, mom was taken to the hospital and she passed away the following day.”

Ling died at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

“We didn’t know what she died of, but we know she had a very bad infection,” Bage said. “Her arm was black and swollen up to the elbow.”

Medical staff gave Ling antibiotics, but there was no reason to believe she was infected with Vibrio, Bage said.

Ling is to be cremated, and relatives are planning a Saturday service at First United Methodist Church in Port Bolivar, where Ling was married and baptized, Bage said.

“She loved the beach and loved everything about living over here,” Bage said. “She was one of the first ones to come back after Hurricane Ike.”

Ike’s Sept. 13, 2008, landfall devastated the peninsula, sweeping 3,600 structures from their foundations. At least nine people who didn’t evacuate drowned.

“Her rheumatoid arthritis, she got after Hurricane Ike and within a year and a half she was in a wheelchair,” Bage said. “She always blamed that on Hurricane Ike. It’s weird her service is Sept. 11. That’s when Ike started to come ashore.”

Vibrio can be treated if caught early. It can be contracted by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, according to the health district.

(News Media: For more information contact Kurt Koopmann, GCHD Public Information Officer, 409-938-2211 or kkoopman@gchd.org)