Pilot Rock boy, 8, dies from flesh-eating bacteria

PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) – An 8-year-old Eastern Oregon boy died from rare, flesh-eating bacteria.

The East Oregonian newspaper reports Liam Ferguson of Pilot Rock wrecked his bike Jan. 13, with the end of the handlebar slicing through his jeans and cutting into his thigh.

It seemed he only needed stitches. But within days, Liam was fighting for his life.

Flesh-eating bacteria, which likely entered his wound from the soil, attacked the boy’s soft tissue. He endured four surgeries before dying Sunday night at a Portland hospital.

Liam’s mother and stepfather are now second-guessing themselves, wondering if they could have gotten him to the hospital sooner. They want other parents to know about the flesh-eating bacteria, known as necrotizing fasciitis, which they had previously been unaware of.

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Information from: East Oregonian, http://www.eastoregonian.com