Update on vibrio vulnificus infections in Louisiana: 1977-2002.

Vibrio vulnificus is a human pathogen that resides naturally in coastal waters where shellfish are harvested. This halophilic Gramnegative bacterium causes clinical syndromes that include septicemia, wound infection, and gastroenteritis. Reportedly, 90% of sea-food-associated deaths in the US are associated with V vulnificus infections. In Louisiana, vibrio infections including V vulnificus have been mandated as reportable since 1989. A retrospective descriptive study of 233 cases of V vulnificus infections from 1977 through 2002 was performed by the Louisiana Office of Public Health (Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Section). V vulnificus infections reported in the state of Louisiana were most commonly septicemia and wound infections (95% of all cases). Seventy-five percent of all cases occurred in individuals greater than 45 years of age (age range, 7-95 years), 85% were reported in men, and infections by race were 10 times higher in whites than African Americans. More than two thirds of these infections were reported in individuals with a variety of underlying medical conditions including liver disease, renal disease, diabetes, peptic ulcer disease and malignancy. The crude mortality rate for this cohort of patients was 25%. V vulnificus is a potentially life-threatening pathogen that primarily causes the clinical syndromes of wound infection and septicemia. Infections occur more commonly in middle-aged men with underlying chronic medical conditions. These data provide additional evidence about which populations would benefit from education regarding the potential dangers of ingestion of raw shellfish or exposure of wounds to contaminated shellfish or seawater.

F.A. Lopez, S. Wilson, S. Soileau, and C.V. Sanders. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA. Louisiana Office of Public Health-Infectious Diseases Epidemiology Section, New Orleans, LA. Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA.