Editorial

Vibrio vulnificus Infection: Epidemiology, Clinical Presentations, and Prevention

Authors: Amal K. Mitra, MD, MPH, DRPH

Abstract

V ibrio vulnificus accounts for approximately 95% of all deaths associated with seafood consumption in the United States. The organism was first reported as a cause of human illness in 1979. 1 It is ubiquitous in marine bacterial flora along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. 2 Infections due to V. vulnificus are seasonal; over 85% occur between May and October. The organism is almost undetectable from December through March in samples collected from Apalachicola Bay, FL, where most of Florida’s oyster production is based. Environmental factors, such as warm temperature (>68°F) and moderate salinity (<16 parts per thousand), favor the growth of V. vulnificus. 3

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References

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