A 68-year-old woman with chronic disease is critically ill with necrotising fasciitis, the Centre for Health Protection said today.

The Tuen Mun woman injured her left index finger when handling a fish at home on August 18.

She came down with a fever and pain in left hand and right leg the next day, and was admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital where she went into septic shock.

She underwent an operation yesterday to have the dead tissue removed.

She tested positive for Vibrio vulnificus, a type of bacteria that causes necrotising fasciitis.