A skin necrotic disease with a fatality rate of up to 40% has occurred in groups in residents of facilities for the disabled in Gyeonggi-do, and the local government and the police have launched an investigation.
Parents of residents say that there were 11 outbreaks over the course of a year, and the facility was in a hurry to hide it.
This is Woo Jong-hoon’s exclusive report.
[Reporter]
Mr. A, in his 30s with intellectual disability, who lived in a facility for the disabled in Anseong, Gyeonggi-do.
His buttocks are clearly marked with surgical scars where a 20cm incision was made to drain the pus.
The disease Mr. A was diagnosed with was confirmed to be necrotizing fasciitis, in which bacteria penetrate skin tissues and organs.
It is known to be a fatal disease with a mortality rate of up to 40% as the infected area spreads rapidly.
However, when Mr. A’s guardian was informed of this fact from the facility, it was a time when his life was in critical condition as he had already progressed to sepsis.
Mr. A is currently confined to a wheelchair after two surgeries.
[Guardian of Mr. A, a resident of a facility for the disabled:먹튀검증 (When I went to the facility after being contacted), sepsis had already progressed. He had an inflammation score of 33. (Doctor) Now this child will die even if he goes, if he does something wrong. The condition is too dangerous.]
The problem is that Mr. A was not the first inmate to have necrotizing fasciitis at the facility.
Starting with two people in January of last year, 11 outbreaks continued for about a year, and
in July of last year, when Mr. A was infected, five people were infected at the same time.
The only explanation I heard from other resident guardians who had to undergo surgery three times for the same disease was that it seemed to be a side effect of the corona vaccine.
Also, when the disease recurred and a back incision was performed to drain the pus, the guardian was not contacted.
[Guardian of Mr. B, a resident of a facility for the disabled: (Wound) I’m not even talking about it. I’ve clearly pointed this out. If it recurs, contact me as soon as possible. Nevertheless, it was hidden despite the second recurrence.]
In the end, the fact that a group outbreak of necrotizing fasciitis was not known to the outside world, such as local governments, was reported by a guardian only 7 months after the first outbreak.
Since then, the public health center has conducted an epidemiological investigation, but has not yet found a specific cause.
The infectious disease specialist who was referred to the public health center advised that it could be infection by beating since it is not an infectious disease that can cause a mass outbreak.
In the end, it was only in April that the facility for the disabled revealed that a syringe that a resident had brought from outside was found.
He stated that he had stabbed another inmate with this syringe, and it was announced that a mass outbreak occurred because of this. In response to YTN
‘s inquiry about the specific cause of the outbreak, the facilities for the disabled refused to give an official answer, saying that they had no intention of concealing it. The Gyeonggi Provincial Disabled People’s Rights Agency reported that there was suspicion of neglect in the process of a group outbreak of residents, and last month requested a police investigation into the facility. The Anseong City Council, Gyeonggi-do, visited the relevant departments and facilities and conducted an emergency inspection to check the safety of residents.
It was confirmed that the facility, which had been operating since 2005, reported to the local government last month that it would voluntarily abolish it.
Anseong City, which supports KRW 1.6 billion every year including government expenses, is reviewing whether an administrative disposition for the facility is possible.