May 24, 2005
Marine killed by scratch and superbug
By Simon de Bruxelles
A SUPERFIT Royal Marine collapsed and died within days of scratching his leg on a bush while on a training run — victim of a mutated superbug one doctor described as the worst she had ever seen.
Richard Campbell-Smith, 18, fell victim to pneumonia caused by a rare strain of bacteria that produces a lethal toxin that kills white blood cells.
A microbiologist who gave evidence at the inquest into his death yesterday said that she had come across two such cases since December but none in the previous 15 years.
Marina Morgan, of the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, said that although cases of the toxin Panton-Valentine leukocidin were still rare, it was difficult to detect, even during post-mortem examination, and many cases might be slipping through.
Cases of the toxin have been reported in America, France, Australia and the Far East and Dr Morgan described the staphylococcus infection as the worst she had encountered.
Mr Campbell-Smith’s grandmother, Edwina Fooks, said that the teenager was extremely fit and 28 weeks into his 32-week course at the Royal Marines’ Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, when he was taken ill.
The recruits had spent the week on a rigorous training programme and Mr Campbell-Smith had scratched his legs on gorse bushes while running on Woodbury Common on October 31 last year.
He was admitted to the medical unit on the same day and called Mrs Fooks to let her know that he was feeling unwell.
Mrs Fooks, 74, from Bournemouth, said: “He called me and said the training had been hard that week and it had been pouring with rain and freezing cold.
“He told me he found it really hard going and he was very, very cold and his hip hurt and he couldn’t walk.
“I was worried when he told me that because he never feels the cold. It was so unusual for him to be unwell.”
Three days after getting the scratches, Mr Campbell-Smith was found collapsed on the floor by his bed. He was admitted to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and died shortly after arrival.
A post-mortem examination revealed that he had cardiac and respiratory failure. Dr Morgan said that victims of the superbug were unable to resist it, no matter how fit they were.
The infection spread to Mr Campbell-Smith’s lungs, causing pneumonia which is fatal in three out of four cases. Dr Morgan said: “PVL is an horrendous toxin because it kills white blood cells so they can’t kill the bug.
“It is the worst bug I have ever seen and people really need to know about it. It is untreatable. It multiplies very quickly. One bug will multiply into 17 million within 24 hours. Usually signs include pneumonia, coughing up blood and very high temperatures, but not everyone will look for it.
“PVL testing is very complicated because samples have to be sent to London.”
Lieutenant-Commander Alistair Allsop, the surgeon at Lympstone, told the inquest that Mr Campbell-Smith’s death shocked everyone at the base.
He said: “He was very jovial, interacting well. He was a nice, likeable recruit.”
Elizabeth Earland, the Exeter and Greater Devon District Coroner, recorded a verdict of accidental death. She said: “I am going to make a recommendation to the medical officer for health that he disseminates information to all doctors updating them on likely symptoms of this infection.
“This is to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment in the hope that mortality of this dreadful infection be reduced.”
© Times On Line (U.K.) 2005
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