NC teenager hospitalized with rare infection

Thursday, June 25, 2009 4:34 PM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend |

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A 14-year-old North Carolina boy is hospitalized with a rare infection that cost him part of his nose and five teeth after swimming in a local lake.

The Fayetteville Observer reports that doctors at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill are treating Matthew McKinney for an infection caused by a bacteria called Chromobacterium violaceum, which was found in Hope Mills Lake.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fewer than 150 cases have been reported worldwide since 1927.

Brian McKinney said his son is in serious condition but that antibiotics are beginning to clear the infection from the teen's blood.

Doctors had to remove the left side of Matthew's nose and palate, and his father said he lost five teeth. Brian McKinney said doctors won't consider reconstructive surgery until the infection is gone.

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