Physician: Several conditions contributed to deaths

All three patients diagnosed with infections from a deadly invasive bacteria had other health conditions that contributed to the severity of their illness, according to a local physician.

The bacteria has killed two of the three patients in Curry County -- a 23-year-old pregnant woman  and a 53-year-old man died.

A 58-year-old man is recovering at an Amarillo hospital and state health authorities said Friday no other cases have been found.

Dr. Robert Timmons, an internal medicine and infectious disease specialist at Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis, said the two men had chronic medical conditions prior to contracting the deadly bacteria, group A streptococcus.

And the 23-year-old pregnant woman who died could have been more susceptible to the bacteria because of her pregnancy, Timmons said. The woman and her infant died Jan. 1 at PRMC.

Group A strep, a common but sometimes deadly bacteria, is known to pose a greater risk for people with immunity issues or existing health conditions, according to the national Center for Disease Controls.

Timmons, who has reviewed all three cases with the doctors who treated the patients at PRMC, said two of the three had sore throats and one had a wound that tested positive for presence of the bacteria.

The invasive infections the bacteria can cause can manifest as either flesh eating, blood or organ infections.

On Wednesday, the New Mexico Department of Health disclosed the outbreak of group A strep infections in Curry County occurred between Dec. 31 and Jan. 5.

NMHD spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer said Friday there are no new reports of infection and health officials are continuing an investigation. 

The first of the three patients to seek treatment at PRMC was the woman, who was about 28 weeks along in her pregnancy. She went to the emergency room concerned about contractions she was having so early in her pregnancy, Timmons said.

She said she had a fever, but when emergency room personnel checked, her temperature was fine, Timmons said.

Concern was focused on preventing pre-term labor, Timmons said, and by the time doctors began to detect the symptoms of the bacterial infection, the woman’s condition deteriorated so rapidly she couldn’t be saved.

By the time the second patient came to the hospital, emergency room staff were aware of what had killed the young mother and recognized symptoms of the bacterial infection in the 53-year-old man.

After treatment was started at PRMC, Timmons said the man was transferred to Veterans Affairs Hospital in Amarillo, where he later died.

State health department and hospital officials have declined to identify the victims by name, citing federal privacy laws.

The family of a 23-year-old woman, who died with her infant son at PRMC on Jan. 1, said Thursday they did not know how she died and declined to be interviewed by the Clovis News Journal.

The family of a 53-year-old who, according to his obituary in the CNJ, died Sunday at the VA hospital in Amarillo, could not be contacted for comment.

Timmons believes the knowledge care givers gained from the first two cases may be the reason the third victim is alive and apparently recovering.

A physician with more than 20 years experience in the area, Timmons said he has only seen one other case of invasive group A strep; that was in a woman in Portales about 20 years ago.

“It probably occurs in maybe one in 100,000 people,” he said. “Most often, people get a sore throat and it doesn’t go blood-born.”

Timmons said historically outbreaks come on fast, claim a low number of victims and end almost as quickly as they begin.

Officials want residents to be aware, and to seek help if they develop symptoms, such as: Fever, severe pain and swelling, redness at the site of a wound, a rash over large areas of the body, dizziness or confusion.

They say as with any contagious disease or bacteria, you can help protect yourself by using basic health precautions — sanitation, hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, staying home when sick and seeking medical attention if serious symptoms develop.

Timmons said just Friday he had three or four patients contact him with concerns about group A strep. None had infections from the bacteria.

“There’s a whole laundry list of things that would present the same way,” he said.

But patients are better safe than sorry and should check with their doctor if they have concerns, Timmons said.