Man eats gecko after a bet: test of courage comes to an incredibly sad end

2020-05-19T10:26:15.953Z

It all started with a stupid test of courage: an Australian had eaten a gecko. But a few days later he suffered excruciating pain - tragedy ensued.

David Dowell was a nature boy, loved fishing and trips with his bulli.
But the life-hungry man was only 34 years old - because of a test of courage that cost him his life.
It happened at a Christmas party in Brisbane, Australia. Dowell ate a gecko - with unforeseen consequences.

Dowell eats Gecko: doctors can't save him

It is not known how exactly the test of courage came about. But it ended up with a little gecko and the man losing their lives, as the British news portal Mirror reported. A few days after the action, Dowell felt something was wrong. He was finally treated in the hospital with excruciating pain. The diagnosis was quickly established: the 34-year-old suffered from a salmonella infection .

Such a bacterial infection is often easy to treat. But Dowell had contracted a pathogen that restricted vital functions and caused his lungs to fill with water that had leaked out of the stomach. The doctors could no longer save him . He died ten days after the said Christmas party, which brought his partner Allira Bricknell into great sadness. "He was a great person, he was the best person I have ever met, he was the best father for our children," quoted the Mirror.

Also read : After a spider bite, vegan only eats meat - why she swears by the new diet .

Salmonella infection can cause typhoid fever

When the doctors went on to investigate the cause and asked Dowell's relatives how the fatal infectious disease could develop, his partner Allira Bricknell recalled the gecko test of courage. According to doctors, eating the gecko could have triggered the salmonella infection .

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Bacteria, so-called Salmonella, penetrate the body through infected foods and trigger various diseases, as the Techniker Krankenkasse writes. The worst possible illness is typhoid fever with 200,000 deaths annually worldwide . People living in countries with poor hygienic standards are particularly at risk.

In Germany, there are mostly harmless salmonella infections. The salmonella species common in Germany result in a gastrointestinal infection, a so-called gastroenteritis , in most cases . Symptoms such as diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and fever speak for this disease, which can be treated well.

The following foods are considered potential salmonella carriers: