Return of the Flesh-Eating Bananas!

News reports out of Africa say online rumors of banana shipments contaminated with the deadly "flesh-eating disease" (necrotizing fasciitis) are running rampant in Mozambique and South Africa. Authorities have denounced the rumors as false.

Apart from claiming that the infected bananas are coming from the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, the recent texts are identical to an 11-year-old email hoax claiming that bananas shipped from Costa Rica were spreading the flesh-eating disease.

Medical experts say the disease is only communicable through direct contact with infected persons and cannot be spread via fruits and vegetables.

Both old and new versions of the hoax urge anyone who thinks they've contracted the disease to "burn the flesh" around the infected area to stop it from spreading — seriously bad medical advice, to say the least.

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Read more about it:
• Flesh-Eating Bananas Hoax (2011 Version)
• Flesh-Eating Bananas Hoax (2000 Version)
• Rumors of Flesh-Eating Disease in Mozambique
• Flesh-Eating Banana Fears Hit Mozambique