Hi there, I'm V. vulnificus.
I'm a Gram negative, oxidase positive fermenter bacteria.
I'm the most virulent of the non-cholera Vibrios.
Like my cousins, I live in the ocean.
I can get into you on contaminated seafood, where I cross from your gut to your blood stream.
Then I can cause septicaemia and necrotic ulcers under the skin, with 50% mortality!
Don't worry though, that's only if you are immunocompromised or have liver disease.
If your immune system if healthy, I can still get into your marine wounds.
I cause severe cellulitis and skin necrosis.
Glad to see my favorite genus of bacteria well represented. I spent several years early in my career working with the Vibrio's. I even got to name a new species, Vibrio aesturianus. It was isolated from the Yaquina Bay, Oregon estuary.
ReplyDelete