Bacterial Infections (Part 3) - Flesh-eating bugs, Lyme disease and more!

In this episode, your hosts Dr George Moncrieff and Dr Roger Henderson are joined by Consultant Clinical Microbiologist Dr Marina Morgan to discuss some of the potentially very serious bacterial skin infections... 

Delving straight in with necrotising fasciitis, the trio cover how patients come to get this bacterial infection and, as it's so easy to miss this diagnosis, the signs and symptoms you should be looking out for in primary care. 

They then move onto discussing the secrets to diagnosing Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL). Spread by close skin contact, they will be imparting key tips that you can share with your patients to reduce the risk of them passing on this devastating staphylococcus aureus infection. 

Ending with Lyme disease, which is now endemic in many parts of the UK, they discuss the likelihood of catching this tick-bourne infection, along with how you should treat someone who presents to you with the associated erythema migrans rash. 

But, if that isn’t enough, this episode also explores antibiotic resistance, and why primary care physicians should be reserving antibiotics for the more serious infections. 

Thank you to our kind sponsor AproDerm, who provide a comprehensive range of quality emollients designed for the management of dry skin conditions, including eczema, psoriasis and ichthyosis.  

To simplify the process of finding the most suitable emollient for each patient, they have developed a remarkable solution: the AproDerm Emollient Starter Pack. This pack conveniently combines all four of their emollients in a single prescription, enabling patients to identify their ideal emollient more efficiently, aiding both compliance and adherence.  

Find out more: https://aproderm.com/aproderm-emollient-starter-pack/   

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fontus-health-ltd/  

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Is there a dermatology topic you’d like us to explore? Email us at info@aproderm.com, and we’ll do our best to cover it. 

The views expressed in this podcast are of Dr George Moncrieff and Dr Roger Henderson. Fontus Health has not influenced, participated, or been involved in the programme, materials, or delivery of educational content. 

Episode Resources:  

• The Lee Spark NF Foundation Education Video: https://nfsuk.org.uk/education/severe-group-a-streptococcal-infections-leading-to-necrotising-fasciitis/ 
• The Lee Spark NF Foundation: https://nfsuk.org.uk/ 
• Morgan, M. (2005) 'Hospital management of animal and human bites', The Journal of Hospital Infection, 61(1), pp. 1-10.  
• Morgan, M. et al. (2024) 'Group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal infection in children', BMJ, 385 (8426), doi:  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-077561