Man’s genital infected by rice-related food poisoning

 

Doctors have treated an unusual case of rice-related food poisoning that affected a man’s genital area.

According to Mail Online, a 38-year-old man in Lebanon was treated by urologists after experiencing redness, swelling, and scabbing on his penis, symptoms that had persisted for a week.

Further investigations revealed that the symptoms began shortly after the man suffered severe diarrhoea and vomiting. The patient had eaten a meal containing rice with his family the day before his symptoms started.

Tests showed the presence of ‘Bacillus cereus’, a bacteria commonly found in rice that has been left at room temperature for too long, which can cause stomach upset and sickness.

Doctors at the American University of Beirut Medical Center concluded that the man’s genital infection was caused by bacteria making direct contact with his groin after an episode of diarrhoea and vomiting following vigorous intercourse with his wife.

They noted that it was unusual to see ‘Bacillus cereus’ in the skin, particularly in the genital area, making this the first reported case of such an infection in medical literature.

The man, a father of two, was treated with a topical antibiotic called fucidic acid, commonly used for eye infections, and was advised to properly wash the affected area and avoid sexual activity until it healed. 

One month after treatment, the patient reported no further discomfort or recurrence of the infection.

The study, published in the journal ‘Annals of Medicine and Surgery’, noted that penile infections typically occur after an injury that creates an open wound and usually involve ‘group A streptococcus’ bacteria.

However, in this case, the infection was likely caused by the bacteria from the diarrhoea and vomit contaminating the penis post-intercourse.