infectious disease doctor man hospital joplin mo

Then it becomes a mad rush for the medical team to figure out what is causing the infection. But when an unusual germ infects a wound, it can take days to notice that the standard treatment isn’t working. Because they are the usual suspects for types of wound infection, treatment for those infections usually begins right away. We’ve all heard of s taph infections, which can be extremely severe and hard to treat. The problem with these infections is that it’s not always everyday microbes that infect a wound. Unfortunately, the events that occurred in Joplin created the perfect environment for exposure to these pathogens, and some injured survivors began showing signs of an unusual wound infection. When residents are scrambling to protect themselves during extraordinarily stressful and frightening circumstances, there is no way to avoid getting a little dirt in your wounds, much less getting it out once it’s in there. Unfortunately, during a disaster, skin injuries are something that comes with the territory. Cuts, scrapes, burns, and even a splinter can allow pathogens to enter the body through the skin. A pathogen can be any living thing that causes disease, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or even other microbes like amoebas. This paves the way for germs-also called pathogens-which can infect humans when the body’s natural defenses are weakened. When people sustain massive traumatic injuries, it puts so much stress on the body that it becomes difficult to fight off infections.

The physical and psychological damages the city of Joplin sustained are devastating, as was the traumatic injuries inflicted on many of the residents. John’s Regional Medical Center, Joplin’s main hospital, was directly in the path of the three-quarter mile wide tornado, with almost 200 patients and even more medical staff inside. The tornado damaged more than 7,000 buildings, one third of the city. Almost 160 people were killed and thousands of lives were completely uprooted. On May 22, 2011, an F5 Tornado ripped through the heart of Joplin, Missouri, a city of more than 50,000 people.

Infectious disease doctor man hospital joplin mo