ABSTRACT
I. BACKGROUND Vibrio vulnificus (vulnificus = Latin adj.; inflicting wounds) is a halophilic, gram-negative bacterium that is considered to be one of the most virulent bacterial pathogens known. It is found as a member of the microbial populations associated with estuarine waters and sediments, and various marine species such as plankton, shellfish, and finfish (1-13). Its discovery, however, occurred not as a result of its ability to cause fatal foodborne illnesses, but because of its ability to cause wound infections (14). The first description of human illness produced by this organism is thought to have been recorded by Hippocrates in the fifth century B.C. (15). However, its present-day history began with the description by Roland in 1970 (14) of a previously healthy man who developed vomiting, diarrhea, and a generalized hemorrhagic rash after recreational clamming and bathing off the northeast coast of the United States. Results from a bacteriological analysis of clinical samples yielded a gram-negative bacillus that was subsequently identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a strain of atypical Vibrio parahaemolyticus or Vibrio alginolyticus. In 1975, Fernandez and Pankey (16) reported similar findings in an investigation of three individuals with analogous clinical descriptions of soft tissue infections produced by a group of salt-requiring, lactose-fermenting Vibrio species, similar but not identical to V. parahaemolyticus. These authors realized that the causative agent was not V. parahaemolyticus, nor was it V. alginolyticus. However, they noted difficulties with the taxonomic characterization of these strains and other members of the genus Vibrio. Noteworthily, their report reemphasized Roland's original findings, and they counseled all clinicians to consider the possibility of this pathogen in any patient with a wound acquired in relation to saltwater or seafood. Baumann and Schubert (17) studied these isolates and designated them enteric group C-2. This was followed by a report by Weaver and Ehrenkranz (18), which surveyed a collection of 34 isolates, including the isolate from Roland's investigation, for taxonomic relatedness based on similarity of biological traits and concluded that these microorganisms should be classified within the genus Vibrio; it was their opinion that they should be regarded as a subspecies of V. parahaemolyticus or possibly given status as a new species based on these strain's lactose-
* Deceased.
