Flesh-Eating Disease from Unwashed Underwear
Part 3: Analysis
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Not true. The so-called "flesh-eating disease" -- known to doctors as necrotizing fasciitis -- cannot be contracted by wearing unwashed undergarments. It is a severe infection of the skin and underlying soft tissues caused by certain types of bacteria, mainly group A streptococcus (better known as the cause of strep throat), which enter the body through cuts, burns, or open sores. Though exposure to these bacteria is possible through direct contact with people who are already infected, they are not typically transmitted via inanimate objects such as articles of clothing (see CDC factsheet).
Copycat hoax
If parts of the text sound familiar, that's because they were paraphrased from a similar message circulating online since 2003 which claims a woman traveling in South America became infected with parasites after wearing a damp bra. One portion of that message read as follows:
| ALL PLEASE WASH ALL BRAS, UNDERWEAR WHEN YOU BUY BEFORE WEARING THEM. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT PARASITE IS IN OUR CLOTHES WHEN WE BUY THEM. |
Phrases from which were clearly copied verbatim into the present text, e.g.:
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TO ALL , PLEASE WASH ALL BRAS, UNDERWEAR ( ALL CLOTHING ) WHEN YOU BUY BEFORE WEARING THEM. YOU CAN THROW THEN IN THE DRYER FOR A QUICK SPIN TO KILL THE PARASITES TOO !!
WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT PARASITE IS IN OUR CLOTHES WHEN WE BUY THEM. FORWARD TO EVERYBODY YOU KNOW. |
Careful readers will have also noted that the copied passages referring to "parasites" contradict other parts of the text which describe undergarments contaminated with "flesh-eating bacteria." While they can both be agents of disease, bacteria and parasites are completely different kinds of biological entities. The terms are not interchangeable.
Flesh-eating bananas
The message is also reminiscent of an email hoax circulating since 2000 which claims that necrotizing fasciitis is being spread via contaminated bananas imported from Costa Rica. Needless to say, this too is a false alarm.
The photos
The photographs accompanying this email -- of which only three examples of the original ten are included here -- appear to be authentic and do document some sort of medical condition -- perhaps more than one medical condition -- but it is not necrotizing fasciitis, the visible symptoms of which are more akin to an open wound revealing the deterioration of deeper layers of tissue.
Sources and further reading:
Group A Streptococcal (GAS) Disease
Centers for Disease Control, 11 October 2005Group A Streptococcal Infections
National Institutes of Health, November 2005Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infection
ADAM Healthcare Center, 9 November 2005Necrotizing Fasciitis Fact Sheet
National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation, 6 December 2005
Last updated: 07/31/07
