Clinical manifestations and molecular epidemiology ofVibrio vulnificus infections in Denmark

Abstract

The clinical manifestations of and epidemiological data from 11 patients infected with Vibrio vulnificus admitted to Danish hospitals during the unusually warm summer of 1994 are reported. All patients contracted the disease after exposure to seawater; however, none had consumed seafood. Four patients developed bacteremia, one of whom subsequently died; nine patients, including the four with bacteremia, exhibited skin manifestations. Four patients contracted the disease while fishing; in at least one case the patient had handled eels. All Vibrio vulnificus strains were highly susceptible to 11 antimicrobial agents tested. Plasmid analysis revealed that 8 of 11 strains carried plasmids. Ribotyping using the enzyme HindIII on the 11 strains showed five different types, two of which comprised four strains each. The present study provides the first clinical and epidemiological data about a series of human Vibrio vulnificus infections from a temperate zone.

Temporal and Spatial Distribution Patterns of Potentially Pathogenic Vibrio spp. at Recreational Beaches of the German North Sea

“…For temperate Northern European Waters, an increasing number of seawater-related wound infections have been reported since the mid-1990s, mainly during summer heat waves. The majority of these infections occurred at the Baltic Sea coast such as in Denmark [20,21], Sweden [5,22], Finland [23] and Germany [24]; however, sporadic Vibriorelated cases were recorded upon contact with North Sea waters in the Netherlands [9,25] and Britain [26].…”

pilF polymorphism-based real-time PCR to distinguish Vibrio vulnificus strains of human health relevance

“…V. vulnificus is a potent human pathogen, and is responsible for more than 95% of all seafood-related deaths (Jones and Oliver, 2009). Isolated incidents of V. vulnificus infections occur globally, with cases frequently reported in the U.S.A., Europe and the Far East (Dalsgaard et al, 1996;Chuang et al, 1992;Hlady and Klontz, 1996;Baker-Austin et al, 2010a). Human infections typically occur after ingestion of raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters, or through entry via a flesh wound (Oliver, 2005;Jones and Oliver, 2009).…”

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of a new fish-virulent Vibrio vulnificus serovar that lacks potential to infect humans

“…The species has been subdivided into three biotypes on the basis of differences in biochemical properties, such as indole production and cellobiose fermentation, as well as serological and genetic traits and host range (Tison et al, 1982;Bisharat et al, 1999Bisharat et al, , 2007. Biotypes 1 (BT1) and 3 (BT3) are considered human pathogens and biotype 2 (BT2) pathogens of aquatic animals (Tison et al, 1982;Song et al, 1990;Biosca et al, 1996Biosca et al, , 1997Bisharat et al, 1999;Fouz et al, 2002Fouz et al, , 2006aFouz & Amaro, 2003) in spite of the fact that several human cases of wound infection and sepsis due to BT2 have occurred worldwide (Veenstra et al, 1992;Dalsgaard et al, 1996). BT2 was first isolated in Japan in 1976 (Muroga et al, 1976) and was described in 1982 by Tison et al (1982).…”

“…The first described, serovar E (SerE) (equivalent to serovar O4 according to the serotyping system of Martin & Siebeling, 1991), is clearly related to both highly virulent epizootics and human infections (Veenstra et al, 1992;Dalsgaard et al, 1996). This serovar seems to be genetically homogeneous regardless of origin, either human or fish (Gutacker et al, 2003).…”