A 19-year-old New England college student has had his legs and fingers amputated after reportedly eating leftover Chinese takeout food in what a medic described as a “perfect storm” of events.
A licensed toxicologist, Dr. Bernard Hsu, described how the young man fell seriously sick after eating tainted leftovers, including lo mein, chicken, and rice.
On Feb 16, Hsu, who didn’t treat the young man, described the teen’s case in a YouTube video as a “freak accident happening in a perfect storm sequence of events.”
In March 2021, the New England Journal of Medicine first reported the teen’s case with details on his admission to Massachusetts General Hospital. The teen reportedly suffered from “shock, multiple organ failure, skin mottling, and a rapidly progressive reticular rash.”
According to the outlet, the teen had been doing well until 20 hours before being admitted to the hospital. Shortly after eating rice, chicken, and lo mein leftovers from a restaurant meal, the boy developed abdominal pain and nausea.
The stomach pain and nausea were followed by several severe health conditions, including generalized weakness, muscle pains, heartburn, shortness of breath, headache, neck stiffness, and blurry vision, the medical journal reported.
The outlet also added that purpuric rashes appeared on different parts of the teen’s body, including chest, abdomen, back, arms, and legs, sparing the palms and soles.
The teen subsequently underwent urine and blood tests and was diagnosed with Meningococcus, a bacterial infection that caused his blood to clot and his liver to fail.
After the diagnosis, doctors found out that the boy took only one out of the three doses of a meningococcal conjugate vaccine without a booster, Newsweek reported. In addition, he also received one dose of a serogroup B meningococcal vaccine out of two or three recommended by the CDC, according to the outlet.
The good news is the young man had a “relatively good recovery” after getting his two and parts of all fingers amputated. The legs were amputated below the knees.
According to the report, a friend of the victim also vomited after eating the same but did not become severely sick.
Hsu’s video, posted on his YouTube channel, has drawn renewed attention to the shocking case. As of Tuesday afternoon, the video in which the student is identified as “JC” has received over one million views.
According to WebMD, to avoid leftover food poisoning, you should put leftover food in a refrigerator no later than two hours after you remove it from a heat source. According to Mayo Clinic, you can keep leftovers in the fridge for a maximum of three to four days. Make sure you eat them within that time.