ABSTRACT
Vibriovulnificus, a halophilic, lactose-fermenting vibrio, is the causative agent in types of illness associated with shellfish or marine environments. Exposure to this organism via sea water or raw shellfish can cause a primary septicemia which can lead to secondary cutaneous lesions. Vibriovulnificus can also infect a preexisting wound, causing swelling and erythema and sometimes leading to necrosis and septicemia. Increased severity of the disease and mortality is seen in patients with liver damage. It has been recovered from the water column, sediment, animals and plants along the Eastern seaboard from Florida to Massachusetts; from the Gulf Coast region and from water, shellfish and sediment along the West Coast. Oysters, quahogs and mussels harvested from conditionally restricted Maine waters were obtained from a commercial depuration plant before and after 48 hours of depuration. There was an apparent decrease in the level of vibrio species in Maine oysters which may be attributed to a decrease in temperature with the change in seasons.
