Vibrio Vulnificus: New Perspectives of a Strange Skin Infection

A cA couple celebrating their anniversary in the Dominican Republic encountered a severe infection. The husband suffered from cutaneous symptoms like early erythema, sudden cellulitis, necrosis, severe sepsis, and amputation of the arm. The wife suffered from gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, without skin involvement. The man sustained a finger injury during a SPA session and later swam in a swimming pool; then he punctured his skin while eating oysters at a restaurant going to an exacerbation of the symptoms.Culture identified Vibrio vulnificus as the cause of the infection, exceptionally attributed to contact with freshwater.Vibrio vulnificus is a highly virulent bacterium that causes severe gastrointestinal, wound, and septicemic infection in individuals with predisposing conditions. Mortality rate is very high, and early diagnosis and therapies are necessary. Vibrio vulnificus lives in seafood, liver, and seawater. The case report could represent the first case of contamination in freshwater.