What is donovanosis? UK woman first in country to contract flesh-eating STD

A woman in the UK has become the first to be diagnosed with a rare STD that eats away flesh, starting with on, in or around the genitals. Read to know more.

A young woman in Southport in the Merseyside county of England has become the first person in the country to contract a deadly flesh-eating sexually transmitted disease (STD).

The matter came to light after UK-based online pharmacy 'Chemist 4 U' filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request with the relevant authorities.

The reply to the request has kept the details about the woman vague on purpose, mentioning only that she is between 15 and 25 years of age. It also said that the disease – known as donovanosis – was diagnosed sometime in the past 12 months.

What is donovanosis?

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has quite a graphic description for donovanosis aka Granuloma Inguinale.

The official page for the STD describes it as "a genital ulcerative disease caused by the intracellular gram-negative bacterium Klebsiella granulomatis (formerly known as Calymmatobacterium granulomatis)."

It adds: "Clinically, the disease is commonly characterized as painless, slowly progressive ulcerative lesions on the genitals or perineum without regional lymphadenopathy; subcutaneous granulomas (pseudobuboes) also might occur. The lesions are highly vascular (i.e., beefy red appearance) and bleed."

In simpler terms, the disease leads to ulcers on, in or around the genitals that bleed easily. As they grow, they can destroy flesh and tissue around them –the "flesh-eating" part of the process.

Treatment and cure

This was possibly the first case of donovanosis detected in the UK. It is rare even in the US, with just 100 cases detected every year.

Chemist 4 U pharmacist Shamir Patel was quoted by the Lancashire Post as saying: "This is a very rare and nasty condition and it could be one of the first times it has been recorded in the UK. Although antibiotics can treat donovanosis, early-stage cases might be going undiagnosed because it's so uncommon in the UK."

He added: "Donovanosis itself can be treated with antibiotics, time is of the essence. "Any delay could cause the flesh around the genitals to literally rot away. This bacteria is also a risk factor in the transmission of HIV."

It may be noted that the aforementioned CDC page of the STD claims there have been instances of relapse of the disease in patients about six to 18 months of apparent remission.