This struck me as pretty funny.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006230164,00.html
Not real funny or hilarious or merely amusing but pretty funny.
I hate to say it, but I can’t see anything funny about someone dying from a flesh-eating bacterial infection. Here’s a little more about it:
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/newsfromnist_Cornell_mediaevent.htm
Happy ending, but scary as hell.
I think the humour may have referred to the title of the article, rather than its contents.
djm
Isn’t it fascinating/horrifying that an organism that is so prevalent – strep is not unusual at all! – can so quickly become lethal when it is introduced to one tissue, but is so curable if found in another?
This old story has long been thoroughly discredited. I happen to know Woodbury Common in south Devon very well indeed as my in-laws live adjacent to it, in East Budleigh (birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh as it happens). The common houses an army training camp and a country club and golf course, and neither soldiers nor golfers have ever contracted this disease. In fact, as an inveterate wearer of shorts and sandals I can assure you that I’ve been scratched by gorse handsomely on Woodbury Common and suffered no ill effects. You Merkins reading this should know that The Sun newspaper is a founder member of that not-so-exclusive club known as “The Gutter Press.”
You mean…you mean…a space alien didn’t have my love-child after all?
All the same, necrotizing fasciitis is a real thing.
I had a cat scratch that led overnight to what seemed to be an unusually large reddened area of skin around the scratch. It wasn’t sore and I felt fine. I got right to the doctor, though, and he walked me to a hospital bed—wouldn’t even let me go home to get some books first. He said I had cellulitis, infection of the skin cells. After 3 days of antibiotics things looked fine and he explained that we had successfully prevented the infection from spreading into the fascia of the muscle tissue which I guess is what that necrotizing fasciitis is. So watch little injuries carefully and if they look at all odd go to the doctor right away. I wouldn’t try to treat it myself even if it didn’t hurt or anything.
The story is spread by Democrats.
The illness is not funny. The headline is funny. Sorry for the confusion.
Thanks, mon. I’m a little hypersensitive about this disease; hope you didn’t feel jumped on.
I knew that you posted it because the headline was so crazy and that you didn’t think the illness was funny. My bit wasn’t intended to “set you straight” or anything like that! I just got off on a bit of a tangent there.
Chas, Cynth,
I didn’t feel jumped on. I realized I’d made a leap of logic that should have been explained. In fact, in light of the real situation maybe the headline itself was over the top.