Marine trainee killed by superbug in graze

Link: Marine trainee killed by superbug in graze.

A young soldier who died after scratching his leg on a bush while out running was killed by a mutated superbug, an inquest heard yesterday. Richard Campbell-Smith, 18, was training to become a Royal Marine when he picked up the deadly toxin. He was 28 weeks in to his 32-week programme at the Commando Training Centre at Lympstone, Devon, when he became ill after running on Woodbury Common on October 31 last year. It is thought the infection entered his bloodstream after he suffered bad blisters on his feet and cuts to his legs. Yesterday, the microbiologist who gave expert testimony at the inquest into his death said it was the worst bug she had ever seen. Dr Marina Morgan of the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital also revealed that she had seen two examples in nine weeks and wanted to alert the public and medical profession to the dangers. The lethal toxin - Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) - has been recorded in America, France and Australia. It kills off white blood cells, leaving the victim unable to fight the infection and is often found in people who have contracted community acquired MRSA.