Mosquitoes are generally not known to be dangerous. The bite from these tiny bloodsucker insects feels like a pinch, making our skin itchy and slightly swollen. Apart from mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and malaria, people rarely tend to get overly bothered by these bugs. However, sometimes mosquitoes can spread deadly viruses in humans causing severe illnesses, just like this man from Germany, who faced a near-death experience from a mosquito bite.
27-year-old Sebastian Rotschke, a resident of Roedermark, Germany nearly lost his life after he was bitten by an Asian tiger mosquito in the summer months of 2021. The Asian tiger mosquito is responsible for diseases like Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), West Nile virus, and dengue fever. In this case, Sebastian had his two toes partially amputated, had to undergo thirty operations, and was in a coma for four weeks.
According to Daily Star, the German resident suffered from blood poisoning and dealt with liver, kidney, heart, and lung failure on several occasions. Sebastian even had to go under the knife for skin transplantation on his thigh to remove an abscess formed in that region. The man recalled that his chances of survival were slim because as per a tissue sample, a malignant bacteria called Serratia marcescens had eaten away almost halfway up his left thigh.
Recounting his life-threatening experience, Sebastian said, “I haven’t been abroad. The bite must have happened here. Then the pure escalation began. I became bedridden, barely made it to the bathroom, had a fever, and couldn’t eat. I thought it was coming to an end. Suddenly I saw that my grey sweatpants were completely soaked. All of a sudden, a huge abscess formed on my left thigh.”
“The doctors very quickly guessed that the Asian tiger mosquito bite was the cause of the whole thing and called in a specialist,” he added. Sebastian was taken to the intensive care unit immediately where he was treated. After the operations and amputation on his toes, Daily Star reports that Sebastian is “fine so far.” Currently, he is on sick leave.
Talking about his dangerous experience with an Asian tiger mosquito, Sebastian urged everyone to be wary of the “fatal” sting of the bug and seek a doctor’s consultation immediately after a bite. “Go to the doctor in good time – it’s better to have one too many than too few. Even a small sting can become fatal!" he said.
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