Hugh Hefner’s Cause Of Death: Deadly Drug-Resistant E. Coli Linked To ‘Playboy’ Founder’s Demise

Hugh Hefner’s cause of death is finally out and it is more worrying than people expected as the Playboy founder’s demise was linked to a drug-resistant E. coli strain.

According to E! News, the 91-year-old publishing mogul died due to cardiac arrest and respiratory failure based on the recently released certificate of death. On top of that, the document noted additional contributing factors to his demise including a severe blood infection Septicemia and a bout with E. coli bacteria.

While it may not be the sole reason why he passed away, headlines about Hugh Hefner’s cause of death caught word of the strange circumstance and found that the particular strain of the bacteria has become drug-resistant.

Based on a report from the Business Insider, most strains of E. coli are often survivable and can easily be treated with antibiotics. However, it can cause severe complications especially for very young and very old patients like Hefner who had a bout with the bacteria for six days.

On top of that, it was revealed that Hugh caught the particular strain of the bacteria to be “highly resistant” to drugs, causing the patient to fail to respond to antibiotics-based treatment.

As it turns out, the death of the legendary Playboy has become part of the statistics on the drug-resistant E. coli problem that boggled the minds of medical experts for years that is seen to be due to antibiotic abuse in people as doctors “practically doling them out like candy” for their patients, Business Insider stated.

Because of this, a particular strain of the E. coli bacteria has developed a resistance to the medication, rendering them useless.

E. coli, or Escherichia coli, is a large group of bacteria that can be found in the environment, food, and intestines of both animals and humans. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most strains of the bacteria are harmless but others can make people sick. Among the primary symptoms of E. coli infection are diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, and pneumonia.

Although it wasn’t Hugh Hefner’s cause of death, the fact that it contributed to the Playboy mogul’s demise added to the growing panic on drug-resistant bacteria. Because of this, experts warn doctors to refrain from overprescribing antibiotics.

[Featured Image by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Playboy]