A MAN was left fighting for his life after swallowing a fish bone which pierced his heart.
The 51-year-old man tested positive for staphylococcus aureus in a hospital in China after experiencing a fever for two weeks.
Staphylococcus aureus, also know as staph, is a common bacteria infection which enters the body through the skin.
If it reaches in the bloodstream, the bug can be deadly, triggering pneumonia, heart valve infections, and bone infections.
Doctors at The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, in Sichuan providence couldn’t work out the infections point of entry.
So they decided to conduct a heart scan which revealed a “foreign body” embedded in the pulmonary vein.
The man underwent heart surgery to remove the item – which turned out to be a 25mm fishbone.
Medics said the operation was successful and followed up with antibiotics.
The man’s case was first reported in the European Heart Journal.
Each year, staph kills around 1.1million people, according to the World Health Organisation.
The bacteria that cause staph infections live harmlessly on many people’s skin, usually in the nose and armpits and on the buttocks.
They usually only cause an infection if they get into the skin – for example, through a bite or cut.
The infection usually clears up on it’s own without the need for antibiotics.
But in some cases staph bacteria can also cause more serious infections, like blood poisoning and toxic shock syndrome.
Warning signs: painful lump on skin, hot red skin, swollen skin, sores on red eyelids.
