According to the Embassy of Finland in Bangkok, the recent news of the death of the young man is the only information that is to be reported relating to the incident, at least for the time being.
The Finn was being treated at a hospital in Bangkok. He suffered from the infection for five days during which time the bacterium could not be brought under control, and eventually it apparently paralysed the young man’s lungs.
Chief physician Ville Valtonen of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District says that based on the limited information available the cause of death could have been a rare blood poisoning caused by an infected wound.
If a wound infection leads to blood poisoning, the mortality rate is around 20 per cent.
”In a case of a wound infection, one has to get treatment as soon as possible”, Valtonen notes.
”In Thailand, for example the methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus is ten times more common than here in Finland”, Valtonen reports.
Valtonen notes further that the situation is particularly dangerous if there is an object left under the skin in the wound, for example a fragment of glass or a splinter. In such cases antibiotics are not effective, which is why all wounds should immediately be cleansed, for example with a spray of water, Valtonen advises.
”It is a sign of danger if the reddening of the skin around the wound starts to spread. It is particularly dangerous if the patient is also running a temperature. At that point it is important to seek medical care without delay”, Valtonen recommends.
A total of 29 Finns died in Thailand in 2008.
In addition, one patient had been brought from Thailand to the Aurora Hospital in Helsinki to receive treatment for blood poisoning. Nevertheless, the patient died seven days after his arrival.
