Bigcypresshunter
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- Dec 15, 2004
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Angler snags disease from river in Martin County
By Ed Killer (Contact)
Friday, October 26, 2007
Avid angler Lowell Clark hoped to catch something over the weekend. What he never expected was catching a flesh-eating and potentially deadly bacteria.
Saturday afternoon, the retired doctor of geriatrics and 30-year resident of Stuart was fishing for mullet with a cast net in the Manatee Pocket at Sandsprit Park. He never gave a second thought to the small cut on his right hand.
"By about 6 p.m., my hand started turning a little red," said Clark, 68. "I put on a little Neosporin and cortisone, but it didn't stop the pain or swelling. I figured I'd be better in the morning."
By 10 p.m., Clark noticed he was feeling flush. He had a fever of 101 degrees. By midnight, his fever hit 103, and he was shaking.
"I told my wife I have to go to the hospital," he said. "She knew if I said that, that it must be bad."
Doctors put Clark on an intravenous drip of antibiotics.
Blood cultures came back negative. However, a culture out of the wound on his hand revealed Clark had contracted Vibrio vulnificus — a sometimes fatal bacteria found in warm saltwater environments. It can be contracted by saltwater touching an open wound.
Dr. Bob Washam, environmental health director with the county Health Department, said there have been three cases in Martin County since 2005. He said the problem has more to do with the temperature of the water than pollution.
"I'm starting to feel a little better now," Clark said Thursday from his hospital room at Martin Memorial Medical Center. "This thing has eaten a hole in my hand the size of a 50-cent piece."
Clark said his doctors told him he will need six more days of treatment with antibiotics to protect him from further infection or from the bacteria getting into his bloodstream.
Having picked up this life-threatening bacteria gives him cause for concern. "It bothers me to see kids diving off the dock at Sandsprit and swimming in the St. Lucie River."VIBRIO VULNIFICUS
What is it? A bacterium in the same family as those that cause cholera. It is found in warm seawater.
How does a person get infected? It is frequently contracted by eating raw shellfish such as oysters. People with open wounds in direct contact to saltwater can also contract it. There is no evidence of person-to-person transmission.
What does it do? Among healthy people, ingestion of the bacterium can cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. In people with compromised immune systems, particularly those with chronic liver disease, the bacterium can infect the bloodstream, causing a severe and life-threatening illness characterized by fever and chills, decreased blood pressure and blistering skin lesions. Bloodstream infections are fatal about 50 percent of the time. Bacterium can also cause an infection of the skin when open wounds are exposed to warm seawater. These infections can lead to skin breakdown and ulceration. Persons with compromised immune systems are at higher risk for invasion of the organism into the bloodstream and potentially fatal complications.
How common is infection? The bacteria is a rare cause of disease, but it is also underreported. Between 1988 and 1995, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention received reports of more than 300 V. vulnificus infections from the Gulf Coast states, where the majority of cases occur.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2007/oct/26/angler-snags-disease-from-river/
By Ed Killer (Contact)
Friday, October 26, 2007
Avid angler Lowell Clark hoped to catch something over the weekend. What he never expected was catching a flesh-eating and potentially deadly bacteria.
Saturday afternoon, the retired doctor of geriatrics and 30-year resident of Stuart was fishing for mullet with a cast net in the Manatee Pocket at Sandsprit Park. He never gave a second thought to the small cut on his right hand.
"By about 6 p.m., my hand started turning a little red," said Clark, 68. "I put on a little Neosporin and cortisone, but it didn't stop the pain or swelling. I figured I'd be better in the morning."
By 10 p.m., Clark noticed he was feeling flush. He had a fever of 101 degrees. By midnight, his fever hit 103, and he was shaking.
"I told my wife I have to go to the hospital," he said. "She knew if I said that, that it must be bad."
Doctors put Clark on an intravenous drip of antibiotics.
Blood cultures came back negative. However, a culture out of the wound on his hand revealed Clark had contracted Vibrio vulnificus — a sometimes fatal bacteria found in warm saltwater environments. It can be contracted by saltwater touching an open wound.
Dr. Bob Washam, environmental health director with the county Health Department, said there have been three cases in Martin County since 2005. He said the problem has more to do with the temperature of the water than pollution.
"I'm starting to feel a little better now," Clark said Thursday from his hospital room at Martin Memorial Medical Center. "This thing has eaten a hole in my hand the size of a 50-cent piece."
Clark said his doctors told him he will need six more days of treatment with antibiotics to protect him from further infection or from the bacteria getting into his bloodstream.
Having picked up this life-threatening bacteria gives him cause for concern. "It bothers me to see kids diving off the dock at Sandsprit and swimming in the St. Lucie River."VIBRIO VULNIFICUS
What is it? A bacterium in the same family as those that cause cholera. It is found in warm seawater.
How does a person get infected? It is frequently contracted by eating raw shellfish such as oysters. People with open wounds in direct contact to saltwater can also contract it. There is no evidence of person-to-person transmission.
What does it do? Among healthy people, ingestion of the bacterium can cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. In people with compromised immune systems, particularly those with chronic liver disease, the bacterium can infect the bloodstream, causing a severe and life-threatening illness characterized by fever and chills, decreased blood pressure and blistering skin lesions. Bloodstream infections are fatal about 50 percent of the time. Bacterium can also cause an infection of the skin when open wounds are exposed to warm seawater. These infections can lead to skin breakdown and ulceration. Persons with compromised immune systems are at higher risk for invasion of the organism into the bloodstream and potentially fatal complications.
How common is infection? The bacteria is a rare cause of disease, but it is also underreported. Between 1988 and 1995, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention received reports of more than 300 V. vulnificus infections from the Gulf Coast states, where the majority of cases occur.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2007/oct/26/angler-snags-disease-from-river/
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,but too sad to see that in my hometown anymore.It's funny how we get squeezed out of our hometowns like that.Maybe that's where my compassion and passion for the Native Americans comes from. HH!!GL!! PALEO
