STI that causes flesh-eating ulcers found in UK for first time

A sexually transmitted disease which causes flesh-eating ulcers to erupt on the genitals has been diagnosed in the UK for the first time.

The rare STI donovanosis is typically only found in tropical countries and up until now, there had been no recorded breakouts in UK.

However, a Freedom of Information request from online pharmacy chemist-4-u.com found a woman, aged between 15 and 25, was diagnosed with the STI in Southport in the last 12 months.

Donovanosis, also called Granuloma inguinale, causes genital ulcers to grow and spread, eventually leading flesh in the groin area to begin to eat itself.

According to the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH), there are four types of donovanosis.

The first and most common type called ulcerogranulomatous results in fleshy red ulcers that bleed when touched.

One version, known as the hypertrophic or verrucous type, appears as an ulcer with a raised irregular edge.

The necrotic type of donovanosis, causes a foul-smelling ulcer which leads to tissue destruction.

The final type, a sclerotic infection is identified by scar tissue.

In addition to the genitals, donovanosis can also appear on the lips, gums, cheeks and in the throat and can also cause permanent scarring and irreversible genital swelling.

The condition is twice as likely to affect men, and can be passed through sex as well as contact with an open ulcer.

The painless STI is treatable with antibiotics, however, early stages typically go undiagnosed and any contact with the bacteria can cause symptoms to appear in one to 12 weeks.

Chemist 4 U pharmacist Shamir Patel told the Liverpool Echo: “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.

“Bacteria that cause the disease, known as klebsiella granulomatis, infect the skin around the genitals, groin or anal area and causes lesions and skin disintegration as the flesh effectively consumes itself.

“Donovanosis itself can be treated with antibiotics, time is of the essence,” he continued, as: “Any delay could cause the flesh around the genitals to literally rot away.”

The STI was previously contained to countries such as India, Guyana, Brazil and New Guinea, however, it has also been diagnosed in Australia and South Africa.

A spokesperson for Public Health England said: “Donovanosis primarily occurs in tropical countries or regions of the Americas, Southern Africa, and Oceania.

“It is very rarely diagnosed and reported in the UK.”

The existence of the STI in the UK was discovered after Chemist-4-u.com contacted hospital trusts nationwide to find out how many diagnosis of STIs there had been, the age of people diagnosed, what sex and what region of the country they live in as part of extensive research into “The Great British STI Taboo.”

The investigation also found there were 420,000 diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections made in England in 2017.