Any information about "Oyster Bacteria"

[tyki]

Hubby and I are preparing for another jaunt down to the Ft Lauderdale/West Palm Beach area. During the past week I received an e-mail that a boss of mine had retired and been sailing in Florida. Granted this isn't totally dive related....but it is related to the water we dive in.

It seems my former boss was sailing and had some problems docking the boat...ended up swimming around the boat to do something with the anchor and scraped his leg. He and his wife got the boat docked and went to do some shopping and then to dinner. At dinner he began having a problem with his right leg. They went to an urgent care clinic and were referred to a larger hospital in Panama City. Within approximately 12 hours of the scrape, he was undergoing surgery....the right leg was turning black. During the surgery, his left leg also began turning black and the blackness was spreading visibly. They had to amputate both legs 8" below the hip. He spent this past weekend on a do not resuscitate order but is finally coming around.

From what I have been able to gather, the doctor's told his wife that the problems with his legs, the blackness, was from an infection caused by "oyster bacteria" and that the water in the area where they had the boat problem had a significant level of this bacteria.

What I am wondering is how common is this? What precautions should be taken? How would you know if the water is loaded with the bacteria?

 

[Rick Murchison]

I think someone's pulling your leg here tyki. Do you have a cite for this story? Dates? Names? Places? Doctor's name?
What you relate would have made headlines across the country!
Rick

 

[TwoBitTxn]

The number one "oyster bacteria" that I can think of is Vibrio sp. All my reference material is at the office so I can't answer this real well.

Yes, Vibrio can cause severe infections.
Yes, Its not uncommon. One main reason oyster beds get closed and a common cause of food poisoning from eating raw oysters.

Both legs? I have a hard time with that one. Unless he cut both legs badly, he had immune problems, or other related medical issues.

Tom

Try this CDC link

 

[Rick Murchison]

Originally posted by Tom Vyles
The number one "oyster bacteria" that I can think of is Vibrio sp.

Yep... that's the "oyster bacteria" - causes cholera. It's bad. But amputation 12 hours after skin scratch exposure???
Not hardly.
Rick

 

[TwoBitTxn]

I agree there are problems with the story. There are several species of Vibrio, many are associated with oysters. I work in public health so I see this on occasion. They do multiply very quickly.

Severe infection after a deep cut, I can buy, I agree... a scratch... maybe it it took a very large section of hide ( like a road rash).

I dunno.

Tom

 

[Rick Murchison]

Originally posted by Tom Vyles
I agree there are problems with the story. There are several species of Vibrio, many are associated with oysters. I work in public health so I see this on occasion. They do multiply very quickly.

Severe infection after a deep cut, I can buy, I agree... a scratch... maybe it it took a very large section of hide ( like a road rash).

I dunno.

Tom

Lemme put it another way, Tom... when I read the initial post my BS meter pegged.
Rick

 

[devjr]

I've never heard of a bacterial infection spreading so rapidly, except strep. Perhaps you remember a few years ago, the stories about the rapid acting flesh eater streptococcus were a sensation. I've seen limbs endangered by Staph Aureus, but only after two weeks from initial symptoms.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Originally posted by devjr
Perhaps you remember a few years ago, the stories about the rapid acting flesh eater streptococcus were a sensation.

The "Flesh Eating Bacteria" story was a hoax.
Rick

 

[BillP]

Hi tyki:

Sorry to hear about your old boss. Necrotizing (tissue killing) infections can be awful. It's hard to get specific with a 2nd (3rd?, 4th?) hand story, but I'll give it a shot. When you hear about "oyster bacteria" I'd guess that people usually mean one of the Vibrio species of bacteria, like Tom already said. People are probably most familiar with hearing about getting an intestinal infection with Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Sometimes they even mean Vibrio cholerae- the bacteria that causes cholera. If someone talks about getting a serious soft tissue infection from "oyster bacteria" I would guess that they're referring to Vibrio vulnificus.

Vibrio vulnificus can cause an intestinal infection from eating shellfish like the other Vibrio species, but in some people it can cause a necrotizing soft tissue infection- the "flesh eating bacteria" problem you see hyped in the press. Lots of different kinds of bacteria can cause necrotizing infections, but this particular bug might best fit your description of an "oyster bacteria" that would cause a serious infection with tissue death after being injured in the water. When you get terribly septic ("blood poisoning") from an infection, it's not unheard of for initially unaffected extremities to die.

Good news is, the infections seem to be uncommon. I don't know how you would know if the water in a certain area is "loaded" with the bacteria, but you can assume that the bacteria are likely around in warm salt water. Tom already gave you the link to the information page on the CDC's website at:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/vibriovulnificus_g.htm

If you want to look at some abstracts of journal articles about Vibrio vulnificus and serious infections, you can look at the National Library of Medicine's website at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=PubMed

HTH,

Bill

 

[BillP]

Rats, the NLM link didn't work. Here are a few relevant articles:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entr...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11718594&dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entr...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11892879&dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entr...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11895351&dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entr...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11924823&dopt=Abstract

Hope they work for you.

Bill