ff
(ff)
#1
A76-year-old woman
in South Australia was
collecting eggs on her rural
property when an aggressivecock
began pecking at herlower left leg.This
led toasignificanthæmorrhage,which
caused her tocollapse.Anautopsy
revealed two small lacerations on
her leg, one of whichwasover
alarge varicosevein.She had
evidently died fromexsanguination
due to bleeding from thevaricose
vein. She had several underlying
health conditions,including high
blood pressureand type two
diabetes.AdelaideAdvertiser ,2Sept;
livescience.com,4Sept2019.
A59-year-oldTexan woman bled to death
early one Sunday morning after shewas
attacked by wildhogs onexiting her car
in the town of Anahuac,40miles (65km)
east of Houston. Christine Rollinswas
visiting an84-year-old woman whom
she regularly cared for; when she didn’t
enter at the usual time,the woman went
outside andfoun dher lying in theyard
with different sizedbitesonher body,
whic hsuggested an attack by morethan
one animal. By the time police had arrived,
Rollins had already bled to death. Around
three million of the USA’sestimatedsix
million wild hogs liveinTexas.They can
weigh morethan 90kg (14st) and are
very powerful. Deaths by wild hog are
extremelyrare; a2013 study found only
four fatalities in the history of theUSA,
three of whichhad takenplace during hog
hunts.news.sky.com, 27 Nov 2019.
A63-year-old man inGermany died from a
rare infection after being licked by his dog.
Doctors subsequentlywarned pet owners
to seek urgent medical advice if they
experienced unusualflu-likesymptoms.
The previously healthyman died from
multi-organ failureafew weeks after he
waslicked (but not bitten or otherwise
injured). He had been infected with
capnocytophaga canimorsus,abacteri um
found in the salivaand gums of dogs and
cats ,which can sometimes be transmitted
to humans.Ifc ontracted, the infection
is fatal inaround 25 per cent of cases,
said doctorsfrom Bremen’s Rote Kreuz
Hospital, although bite infections caused
by this bacterium arerare.Severe or fatal
infections usually only affect personswith
suppressed immunesystems or alcohol
problems.
After three days of fever and respiratory
difficulties,the unnamed manwas
admitted to hospitaland treated
with antibiotics,buthis condition
deteriorated whilst medical staff
tried to work outthecause of his
symptoms.Healsohad acute kidney
injury and signs of liver dysfunction, and
wasplaced in intensivecare,but
his condition worsened over the
next 30 hours as he developed
encephalopathy (brain disease)
and paralytic ileus (intestinal
muscle paralysis). On his fourth
day in hospital,capnocytophaga
canimorsuswasdiagnosed from
blood tests anddoctorsincreased
the man’s antibiotic regime.But his
brain beganswelli ng, and abdomen
scans indicatedthe shutting down of
blood flow to some vital organs.The man’s
family in consultation with his doctors
then decided to cease treatment, and
life support wasturned off 16 days after
treatment had begun.news.sky.com, 27
Nov 2019.
An elephantcaus ed thedeath of
aBuddhist monk duringareligious
procession in June2017atthe coastal
town ofKochchikade,Sri Lanka, 26 miles
(42km) north of Colombo.One ofthree
colourfully dressed elephantswent on
arampage and attacked the 25-year-
oldmonk,who died in hospitalthe next
day. In Ju ly 2017 an elep hant trainedto
give rides to touristsat Victoria Falls,
Zimbabwe’s main holiday resort,charged
at andkilledone of its handlers.Enock
Kufandada,50,had worked attheresort
forover10years,whilst Mbanje, the
30-year-oldbull elephant responsible
forhis de ath, had beengivingrides
to tourists earlier that day.Zimbabwe
Parks andWildl ifeManagement Authority
ranger ssubsequently shotand killed
Mbanhje.
GlynnisVaughan,chie finspector of
the Zimbabwe National Society for the
Preventionof CrueltytoAnimals(ZNSPCA)
said thatAfrica nelephantscould never
be domesticatedand described the
prac tice as “vicious” and“cruel”. In
September 2017aman wascrushed to
deathby an elephant in the Sundigarh
districtofOdisha, eastern India.Locals
saytheywerealready in theprocess of
drivingaway theangeredelephant when
Ashok Bharti, 54,approachedthem and
attempted totake aselfie of himselfand
the animalwhen it turned on him.The
criticallyinju red manwasrescuedbut
died in hospital.D.Teleg raph, 13 June,25
July; indiatimes.com, 3Sept2017.
STRANGE DEATHS
UNUSUALWAYSOFSHUFFLINGOFFTHISMORTALCOIL
COMING
NEXT
MONTH
MARK OF THE WITCH
IN SEARCHOF BRITAIN’SRITUAL
PROTECTIONSYMBOLS
FORTEAN
TIMES
390
COLLECTING MANIA
WHEN THE EPHEMERAL
BECOMESALL TOOPERMANENT
+
VANISHING PENISES,
SUTTON HOO SPIRITS,
EXORCISING NESSIE
AND MUCH MORE...
ON SALE 27 FEB 2020