Dead woman had as much bacteria in blood as dying ‘Aids patients’, court hears in Hong Kong beauty centre therapy case
She had died of blood poisoning after cancer procedure; owner and staff face manslaughter trial
A prominent Hong Kong microbiologist told a High Court jury on Wednesday that a woman who had died after treatment at a beauty centre was found to have as much bacteria in her blood as that of “terminally ill Aids patients”.
Yuen Kwok-yung, chief of service in microbiology at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, said tests conducted on Chan Yuen-lam found 100,000 bacteria in every millilitre of her blood. The levels were so high that they could be detected even before the bacteria was cultured.
Asked if he had ever encountered such an alarming presence of bacteria in blood samples, Yuen told the jury: “I have only seen it in terminally ill Aids patients.”
Healthy woman died due to ‘unproven and wholly unnecessary’ cancer treatment from private clinic, court hears
Yuen, best known for his role in combating the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) when the epidemic hit Hong Kong in 2003, was called to the witness box in a manslaughter trial on Wednesday to testify as an expert.
Chan, 46, died on October 10, 2012, a week after she suffered from septicaemia from a cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) treatment at a DR Group centre in Causeway Bay.
The treatment required blood to be taken from Chan, processed to enhance white blood cells, and then reintroduced into her body.
The court heard that the infused blood was tainted with mycobacterium abscessus, a strain that could withstand harsh environments.
DR Group owner Dr Stephen Chow Heung-wing, employee Dr Mak Wan-ling – who administered the procedure – and laboratory technician Chan Kwun-chung – who processed Chan’s blood – are each pleading not guilty to manslaughter by gross negligence.
