‘Sickest man in the NT’: Darwin dad’s warning after melioidosis horror story

From tending to the flower bed to almost a month in a coma, organ failure and amputations: This Darwin man is warning Territorians to stay alert to the threat hidden in Top End soil.

Darwin man Mark Davis is lucky to be alive after contracting melioidosis while watering his garden. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Warning: This article contains images of injuries.

A Darwin dad is lucky to be alive after watering the garden left him with multiple amputations and a moniker of “the sickest man in the Northern Territory”.

Mark Davis, 59, was tending to his small Stuart Park apartment garden – digging, laying turf and planting – when he contracted melioidosis in January this year.

The potentially fatal disease lives in tropical soils and was aerosolised by Mark’s garden hose, lodging in his lung when he breathed in.

Darwin man Mark Davis is lucky to be alive after contracting melioidosis while watering his garden. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Wet season in the Top End brings melioidosis to the surface, and NT health has recently issued a warning to stay on high alert to the disease

The disease killed six Territorians last season and has already infected five since October this year.

Mark’s symptoms weren’t obvious at first – he had a cough, felt tired and thought he might have a mild case of the flu.

It was a couple of weeks later when he woke up in the middle of the night and told his partner Sue “I’m having real trouble breathing”.

Sue, a former nurse, took him to Royal Darwin Hospital where doctors quickly realised how serious things were.

“Within two hours I was put into an induced coma, and it turned out my kidney and liver failed, and one of my lungs had collapsed,” Mark said.

“I was in a coma for three weeks, no-one thought I’d make it.”

Mark Davis was dubbed the 'sickest man in the NT' after contracting melioidosis earlier this year. With his daughter in hospital. Picture: Supplied.

Mark developed sepsis, poisoning his blood and causing necrosis in his feet and hands.

It was at this point the doctor overseeing Mark’s care, Professor Bart Currie, told Sue her partner was “the sickest man in the Northern Territory”.

Professor Currie leads the tropical diseases team at Menzies School of Health Research, and Mark credits the doctor with saving his life – something Professor Currie is quick to deny.

“It’s just our intensive care nurses and doctors are so spectacularly good at looking after melioidosis,” Professor Currie said.

“That’s why mortality here in Darwin is lower than in any other hospital in the world, basically.”

Professor Bart Currie is pictured in the Specimen Preparation Area at the Royal Darwin Hospital – he is an expert on melioidosis. Picture: Che Chorley

Less than 10 per cent of melioidosis cases are fatal in the Top End, compared with global hotspot of Northeast Thailand, which sees more than a thousand cases every year – a third of whom die.

Melioidosis is native to Australia, and scientists believe it lives around the roots of plants helping to protect them from other bacteria, fungi or parasites.

But what makes it a good defence for plants, makes it dangerous for the human body, particularly for those with other health issues which mean their immune system cannot out-compete the melioidosis bacteria.

“We really push for prevention, particularly if you’ve got those risk factors,” Professor Currie said.

That means covering any cuts when going outside, wearing shoes and gloves when handling soil, and wearing a mask when using high pressure hoses.

Mark Davis was dubbed the 'sickest man in the NT' after contracting melioidosis earlier this year, which caused necrosis in his hands and feet. Picture: Supplied.

The infection forced Mark to have fingers and toes amputated. Picture: Supplied.

Mark’s recovery is far from over.

After three months in hospital and rehab he was forced to have a toe on each foot amputated in June.

A couple of months later he also lost part of a finger on his left hand, he still cannot feel his feet due to nerve damage, and must attend frequent appointments and check ups.

“I’m a carpenter by trade and there’s no way I can go back to doing that in the way I was,” Mark said.

“I used to play guitar, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to do that again one day.

“But I know I’m lucky to be sitting here.”