CNN
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The bumps on the California girl’s hands were mysterious and growing. Her family didn’t realize the cause until she saw two doctors and had a biopsy. That child may have thwarted a hungry iguana and a sweet tooth, resulting in the first documented infection of the rare bacterium. Human infection through iguana bites.
A girl, Lena Mars, will be featured in a scientific presentation on the case at the European Conference on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in April. She continues her recovery at her family’s home in San Jose, California, after an unexpected ordeal that began during the March 2022 holidays.
Marth and his parents, Julian and Luisa, were traveling to Costa Rica. Her little girl’s parents gave her a snack while enjoying her one of the many beautiful beaches in her country. But it turns out she wasn’t the only one keeping her hungry. A wild iguana appeared while the girl was eating cake by the water.
Iguanas are common in Costa Rica. They are harmless herbivores, mostly known for basking in the sun under trees and eating fruits and leaves, but experts say the animals must have developed a sweet tooth. say.
The iguana ran up to the girl and bit the back of her left middle finger, loosening the girl’s grip on the cake.
Dr. Jordan Ma, author of the presentation and an expert in medical microbiology, said: As part of the Department of Pathology at Stanford University, we did a lab test on the case. The girl’s parents probably didn’t think about her bites when they took her to the doctor for a bump on her hand.
“I think the bite was kind of insane because when they first went to see a doctor for the bump, they didn’t consider it a potential exposure because it had just healed. It wasn’t until later in the course of treatment that it shook their memories and brought them to the attention of doctors.
Mars says Mars responded immediately after the iguana encounter. Her wounds appeared superficial, but they took her girl to a local clinic where staff disinfected her wounds with alcohol and gave her five days of antibiotics. .
The wound seems to have healed in about two weeks. Only five months after her, her parents noticed a dime-sized bump on the girl’s hand in the same spot and thought she should be taken to another doctor. The girl, she said, was in no pain and had no other symptoms.
Her pediatrician thought the bump could be a harmless cyst and told her parents to be careful. We took the girl to an orthopedic surgeon, who recommended a biopsy.
In November, doctors removed a 2-centimeter lump. Scientists took a closer look at the growth in the lab and found that the child was infected infrequently. Mycobacterium marinum, A non-tuberculous mycobacterium that more commonly causes tuberculosis-like disease in fish.
It is ubiquitous in fresh and salt water, but rarely infects humans. Humans usually become infected after a wound is exposed to bacteria in water. most people People with these infections develop a rash that can spread in balls. They may develop nodules with pus or become purulent. Ulcer.
Most Antibiotics Only Because this type of infection is usually ineffective, doctors began giving her the antibiotic rifampin and clarithromycin, an antibiotic commonly used for skin infections. The infection responded well to treatment.
“Normally, these infections take a very long time to grow and are a little picky, so they need to be treated for longer periods of time, sometimes for months,” Mah said. I wouldn’t say 100%, but she’s much better than when she started.”
Ma believes this is the first time a human has contracted this type of infection from an iguana bite. He wanted to present this case to alert clinicians to the possibility.
Growing M. marinum in the lab required cooler temperatures than most bacteria. This particular bacterium likes to grow at about 82-86 degrees Fahrenheit. Most bacteria are cultured at around 95 to 98.6 degrees, So the diagnosis was slightly different. Lizards and iguanas have cooler body temperatures than humans, so they could be perfect hosts for this type of bacteria, Ma said.
“We know a lot about animal bites, bacteria and infectious diseases, like dogs and cats, but not so much about lizards, let alone iguanas,” he said. “I don’t think people should be afraid, but doctors should be aware of the possibility.”
Native to Central and South America and Mexico, the iguana is an invasive species in the United States. south florida, Hawaii, Texas, Puerto Rico, etc., so you may encounter more. But don’t be afraid, iguanas are usually harmless, according to experts who work with iguanas.
Anna Meyer, Operations Manager iguanaland, For Florida’s largest reptile zoo, the behavior in this case is atypical.
“Normally, they go about their day, wanting no one to disturb them and no one to disturb them. Yes,” says Meyer. In this case, other tourists in Costa Rica may have been feeding wild iguanas until they got used to people and developed certain expectations of them.
“It’s an animal that people have just gotten used to offering food,” Meyer said. You must have noticed.
The lesson here, she said, is that no one should feed wildlife. This is because stealing food from a child makes the animal think that it is like stealing candy from a baby.
“Cakes have more calories than mangoes and leaves,” she said.
The Mars family said their daughter was still recovering from her wounds and praised the spirit with which she handled the whole experience.
“Daughter Lena just had her 4th birthday and is still recovering from surgery in November. The wound has just closed and the whole healing process is more forceful than the bite itself,” said the family. “Lena is the bravest child we can imagine and she handles the situation well. She definitely remembers the bite and knows the bacteria came from the iguana.” She will probably never forget this experience, but I hope that one day we can all laugh about what happened.
