It is summertime, and the living is good, and people are in the water. Now is a good time to mention a little something you will be swimming with.
Vibrio Vulnificus......
It is a nasty little organism that lives in the water and upon the creatures that live in the water. As fishermen, we are exposed to it and while you probably will never have an issue....you could. I know I certainly did. Mostly, it is a concern when eating raw oysters and such, but you can also aquire it through puncture wounds from crabs and fish. People with compromised immune systems and liver diseases are most suseptable, but even healthy folks, just like me, are able to be infected.
We had bought a buschel of crabs and I was cleaning them. One crab up and decided to pinch me on the side of my middle finger on my left hand.
Two days later, I awoke to start my day and noticed that the end of that finger had swollen and was puffy. It was hard not mushy. I took my shower and as I walked out the door to go to work, I noticed my entire finger was involved. Sometime after arriving at work, it was in my hand. I figured it was something dumb and ignored it. About an hour later it was in my forearm, and I decided the doctor needed to see me. Of course.....the nurse realizing instantly that it was absolutely nothing, scheduled me to see him two days later.
When it started into my upper arm I went immediately to the emergency room. That was quite an adventure. The doctors, had no idea of what it was. They figured that a piece of the claw remained in the wound and that that was what was causing the infection. I said otherwise, several times. I knew it was not a staph infection. But....hey, they're the doctors. They took a hook shaped scapel and inserted it under my finger nail and sliced around looking to lance a pocket of puss.
Once finished, I calmly, grabbed his arm and said- "Doctor- you are looking for puss, and I am telling you there is none. This is not a staph infection." So dutifully, and ever so arrogantly, he decided that I was a complete idiot and proceeded to insert that scapel again. It was difficult to endure his probings of misadventure. Finally, he extracted the scapel blade and announced his conclusion that it was not a staph infection. I of course congratulated him on his powers of deductions and immediately asked for a big time introduction of anti-biotics, because now it was getting closer to my heart.
We still had no clue what it was- mind you.
Two arms with IVs in them, and two bags of anti-biotics going in, multiple shots and some pills. He was clueless, but knew enough to know it was fixing to get down right serious. Within about a half an hour, everything stopped and started to go away. Yes...he killed it.
I left the ER and went straight back to work, because that is what I do. I walked into our embalming room and there laid a 'client'. He was relatively young and appeared to be in good shape, except he was missing his lower leg. Recent amputation, and he had been autopsied.
He was a waterman, and had scratched his leg whilest harvesting oysters and such. His infection apparently went untreated. He ended up going into the VA hospital in town, but apparently those doctors didn't know what to do, or it had spread too far. They amputated his leg because it had died. I assume that that is exactly where he got scratched.
I was freaking out because I had just put two and two together, and realized that that could have been me.
I spoke with the medical examiner about this, and he said the man was healthy but died from a Vibrio infection. I started reading about it and all the literature states that you get it from eating raw contaminated seafood, and that people who have comprised immune systems and bad livers get the bug. But....this is not the case. Anybody can contract this infection, if it gets you just right.
About a month later, there was a story in the paper about a game warden who was wading in the water and stepped upon a sting ray. It spined him and while that was quite painful, he managed. But later, he developed an infection in the wound area. Guessed right you did- vibrio. He sought treatment immediately and that decision saved his life, as mine had saved mine. He ended up staying in the hospital for some time, as his decision must have been delayed. We were both extremely lucky.
The problem becomes life threatening when the infection is allowed to progress to where you enter the hospital in a state of shock. Mortality rates are high. It is treatable when the person realizes something is wrong and seeks treatment- EARLY ON. If they put it off, they suffer.
The organism resided on that crab of mine. When he pinched me he broke a blood vessel, and that action allowed the organism to leave the surface of his claw and enter my bloodstream. There it sat and then two days later.... it just took off.
Now I don't wish people to stop swimming or fishing or eating crabs, and I guess you can step on a sting ray if you just have to, but.....remember this post. If you or someone else, like a kid or something, gets a wound while swimming in warm salt water, keep an eye on it. If after a few days there is nothing- good. But if an infection sets in, keep an eye on it. If it seems to be moving, get to the ER and tell the doctor. If they don't seem to understand what is going on, ask- "Could it be vibrio ?" Nowadays they are better trained than they were back then- 13 years ago. They have been educated a little better, and now know that it is quite common in our waters.
DON'T EAT RAW OYSTERS IN SUMMER !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I puncture and slice myself all the time whilest fishing. Never had another bout. But......I know to keep an eye out. Now you know, too.
Now get out there and have fun...... the prophet of doom said so.