KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — The death of Irish teenager Nora Quoirin, likely from starvation while lost in the rainforests of Negri Sembilan thousands of kilometres from her London home, has captured the public’s attention.
Amid the outpouring of sympathy for the Quoirins’ loss of their special needs eldest child, many Malaysians also wondered if it’s possible for a person to starve to death in under 10 days.
To that question, paediatric surgeon at University Malaya Medical Centre Prof Dr Yik Yee Ian explains that prolonged hunger can cause acid to build up in the internal abdominal organ, which can lead to stomach ulcer or “leaky gut”, and that can be fatal.
He told Malay daily Sinar Harian that leaky gut is when there are holes in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which includes the stomach and the small and large intestines, allowing for infection.
“A chronic stomach ulcer can cause leaky gut that could lead to peritonitis, which is due to extreme bacterial infection either through the blood or stomach. This can cause a shock to all the organs and inflict pain before causing death.
“However, the risk depends on the individual and their health status. Among the causes of leaky gut is due to infection, inflammation and trauma,” he was quoted saying.
He said most cases of leaky gut in children happen due to a pre-existing condition from birth.
“Cases of leaky gut involving children usually happens when they’ve had congenital malformations of the GI tract since birth,” he told Sinar Harian.
Dr Yik said if those who suffer from chronic stomach pain should seek immediate medical attention as it may be due to leaky gut.
Nora, 15, arrived in Kuala Lumpur with her French father Sebastien Quoirin, Irish mother Meabh, and two siblings on August 3, only to disappear the next day from their holiday villa in The Dusun, an eco-resort in Pantai, Negri Sembilan.
Her naked body was found 10 days later on August 13 at the bottom of a ravine, just 2.5km from the resort.
A post-mortem examination found that she had not been violated or harmed, and died from gastrointestinal bleeding, likely due to stress and hunger from going days without food.
Her family had revealed that she was born with holoprosencephaly, which in simple terms means that she has a smaller brain.
