What can one say, but…YIKES!!!

Why you don’t want to get tuberculosis on your penis
While tuberculosis can attack anywhere, it’s extremely rare on the penis.

Well, we got that going for us, at least. For those of you who aren’t prone to nightmares, onwards.

A man in Ireland earned the unpleasant distinction of developing an exceedingly rare infection on his penis—one that has a puzzling origin, but may be connected to his work with dead animals.

According to an article published in ASM Case Reports on Thursday, the 57-year-old man went to a hospital in Dublin after his penis became red, swollen, and painful over the course of a week. He also had a fever. Doctors promptly admitted him to the hospital and noted that he had received a kidney transplant 15 years prior. As such, he was on immunosuppressive drugs, which keep his body from rejecting the organ, but could also allow infections to run amok.

Initial blood work found hints of an infection, and the doctors initially suspected a bacterial skin infection (cellulitis) had taken hold in his nether region. So, they put him on some standard antibiotics for that. But his penis only got worse, redder, and more swollen. This prompted consultation with infectious disease doctors.

A more thorough review of the man’s case revealed that in the three months before his hospital visit, he had experienced fever, drenching night sweats, chills, loss of appetite, and weight loss. They also noted that he had a lot of dead animal exposure. He was born and raised on a farm in rural Ireland, worked as a butcher handling deer and occasionally cattle, and was an avid hunter who field -dressed game.

Happily, I myself am not disposed towards any of those activities, although neither am I opposed to them. Well, until just now I wasn’t. More, and even worserer:

While Mycobacterium can spread through the air and are often found in the lungs, the bacteria can strike anywhere in the body. Still, penile tuberculosis is exceedingly rare. In fact, it’s uncommon to have tuberculosis erupt anywhere in the urinary and genital tracts. Among the infections that spring up in the region, penile infections account for less than 1 percent.

But, given the man’s lungs and his immunosuppressed status, the unusual presentation became their leading guess—and tests soon confirmed it. Mycobacterium were identified in the man’s respiratory tract, and penile tissue tested also showed the bacteria, though the testing couldn’t identify what species of Mycobacterium.

Treatment for tuberculosis requires a regimen of several antibiotics and takes months. In the man’s case, they customized his treatment with a 12-month, four-drug regimen that wouldn’t interfere with his transplant.

Still, the penile lesion got worse before it got better. He developed a large necrotic ulceration on the side of his penis, and his foreskin began to “break down.” Surgeons had to mechanically cut out the dead tissue. After 10 months, his infection appeared to have cleared, and his penile lesion had improved.

Bold mine, natch, and that part of this horrible story makes me feel particularly bad for the guy. I mean, think about it for a sec: the poor fella’s White, and Irish to boot, so we can safely assume that he didn’t have any spare pecker to be slicing off, know what I mean?

I said “Yikes!!!” already, right? Well, I’d like to add a “Holy shit!” to that sentiment, if I may.

(Via Insty)