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"Virus Hoax:
Urband Legend Example"
Virus Hoax Warnings: Page 2
of 57
Flesh Eating Bananas Hoax
February 2000
The warning, shown below, purports to come from the Center for Disease
Control warns of necrotizing fasciitis associated with bananas that will
eat the flesh off your bones. The report is totally false as indicated
by the CDC and the FDA:
CDC and FDA joint statement: False Internet Report About Necrotizing
Fasciitis Associated With Bananas CDC: False Internet Report about
Bananas.
Subject: URGENT warning
Dear Friend, Please forward to everyone you love!! This is VALIDATED
FROM THE CDC. (center for disease control in atlanta georgia)
Warning: Several shipments of bananas from Costa Rica have been infected
with necrotizing fasciitis, otherwise known as flesh eating bacteria.
Recently this disease has decimated the monkey population in Costa Rica.
We are now just learning that the disease has been able to graft itself
to the skin of fruits in the region, most notably the Banana which is
Costa Rica's largest export.
Until this finding scientist were not sure how the infection was being
transmitted. It is advised not to purchase Bananas for the next three
weeks as this is the period of time for which bananas that have been
shipped to the US with the possibility of carrying this disease. If you
have eaten a banana in the last 2-3 days and come down with a fever
followed by a skin infection seek "Medical Attention"!!!
The skin infection from necrotizing fasciitis is very painful and eats
two to three centimeters of flesh per hour. Amputation is likely, death
is possible..
If you are more than an hour from a medical center burning the flesh
ahead of the infected area is advised to help slow the spread of the
infection.
The FDA has been reluctant to issue a country wide warning because of
fear nationwide panic. They have secretly admitted that they feel
upwards of 15,000 Americans will be affected by this but that these are
acceptable numbers.
Please forward this to as many people you care about as possible as we
do not feel 15,000 people is an acceptable number.
Manheim Research Institute Center for Disease Control Atlanta Georgia
Copyright 2004 by Jay Jennings
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