Doctors in Australia have identified the rare bacterial infection that last month killed a 24-year-old Iranian seeking asylum in Australia.
Hamid Khazaei, died in a hospital in city of Brisbane after his leg became infected on Manus Island.
The infection was caused by a bacteria called chromobacterium violaceum, which can aggressively attack internal organs after entering the bloodstream, Australian media reported.
The bacteria is found in soil and stagnant water. The infection is rare with only about 200 reported cases in the world since the 1920s.
Doctors at Manus Island were unavailable to assess Mr Khazaei’s worsening condition following the cut on his foot because they were booked out, according to his friends.
It was only after asylum seekers alerted a security officer that Khazaei was placed in medical isolation.
It took three days for him to be airlifted from Manus Island to hospitals in Port Moresby and finally Brisbane.
Mr Khazaei was laid to rest at a packed funeral in Iran’s capital Tehran last week. His family are still in shock.
