A 48-year-old woman from Sydney, Australia, has astonished medical professionals with her remarkable recovery from a severe infection she contracted after playing with her cat.
The woman was diagnosed with necrotising enterocolitis, a potentially life-threatening condition, following exposure to clostridium chauvoei, an exceedingly rare pathogen known to be fatal in the only documented human cases. Typically associated with the fatal black leg disease in sheep and cattle, clostridium chauvoei rarely affects humans.
The illness manifests as inflammation and tissue death within the intestines, often resulting in distressing symptoms such as abdominal swelling and bloody stools.
It is believed that the woman came into contact with the pathogen while gardening with her bare hands after engaging with her pet cat. A scratch from the cat caused open wounds on her hands, which were subsequently exposed to soil.
Upon developing the infection, she was swiftly admitted to the hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery to address damage to her bowel. Her treatment spanned ten days, during which she made a remarkable recovery.
