Beauty queen’s hands and feet amputated

22 January, 2009, 12:55

A 20-year-old model who was to represent Brazil in the Miss World contest in New York has had her hands and feet amputated after contracting a severe urinary virus, AFP news agency reports.

Mariana Bridi da Costa was diagnosed with the infection Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium, which can often prove fatal. Doctors said they had to amputate to save the woman’s life.

The model fell ill on December 30, but was initially misdiagnosed with kidney stones.

Bridi da Costa returned to hospital for further tests that finally revealed her condition. But it was too late as the infection had spread ot her limbs, cutting off the blood circulation.

Mariana Bridi da Costa made it into the national finals for the Miss World contest twice. Her last beauty contest was Miss Bikini International pageant 2008 in China.