FLESH-EATING BACTERIA KILL HOUSTON AREA WOMAN

Kingwood woman confirmed as Harvey death from flesh-eating bacteria

By Cindy George and Todd Ackerman

Houston Chronicle
September 26, 2017

A Kingwood woman who became ill after falling into Harvey floodwaters at home died from flesh-eating bacteria, the Harris County medical examiner's office ruled.

Nancy Reed, 77, died on Sept. 15 of flood-related necrotizing fasciitis, an infection that spreads quickly through muscle tissue and can cause organ failure.

Reed was the second known case of the bacteria related to the floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey. Rescuer J.R. Atkins, a former firefighter and medic, was contaminated through an insect bite on his arm while helping Missouri City neighbors. He survived.

"It's tragic," said Dr. David Persse, director of the city's emergency medical services. "This is one of the things we'd been worrying about once the flooding began, that something like this might occur. My heart goes out to the family."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, necrotizing fasciitis is a serious bacterial skin infection that kills the body's soft tissue, spreads quickly and can be fatal in a short time. Prompt diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics can prevent death.

The infection is not considered a reportable disease in Texas, meaning doctors or laboratories who diagnose it are not required to alert health authorities. But they are required to report many of the organisms that cause the disease — streptococcus, E. coli, vibrio vulnificus and certain types of drug-resistant staphylococcus.

Strep is the most common cause of flesh-eating bacteria. Vibrio is the most common in salt water.

Since 2010, the CDC has documented 700 to 1,100 cases of necrotizing fasciitis annually caused by group A strep, but details were not immediately available how many deaths were caused by the infection.

Reed fell at her son's home in Kingwood, breaking and cutting her arm, according to a family friend. After the injury became infected, she was treated at Memorial Hermann Hospital - The Woodlands and then taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital - Texas Medical Center, where she died.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences concluded that the infection complicated the blunt trauma to her arm. Reed is the county's 36th death to be officially linked to Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath, which contributed to more than 75 deaths statewide.

Reed was remembered during a memorial service on Friday at First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood.

According to her obituary, Reed was a community volunteer and chief executive of the LivingTributes.com website of online memorials to the deceased. She was widowed with one son, John Reed.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Jan. 4, 1940, she was a former elementary school teacher and worked at The Reed Agency with her husband, Gary, until he died in 1999. She was also president of the Reed Foundation.

"Nancy was a kind, caring member of the Kingwood community and gave of her time and many talents generously," her obituary said.

She was active in her church, serving on multiple committees, and worked with the Village Learning and Achievement Center and the Upbring Krause Children's Center.