TY - JOUR
T1 - Primary septicemia caused by vibrio cholerae non-O1 acquired on cape cod, massachusetts
AU - Kontoyiannis, Dimitrios P.
AU - Calia, Kerstin E.
AU - Basgoz, Nesli
AU - Calderwood, Stephen B.
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support: This work was partially supported by a Public Health Service grant (AI-34968) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (S.B.C.). K.E.C. is the recipient of a Searle Scholar's Fellowship in Infectious Diseases from the Infectious Diseases Society of America and of a National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
PY - 1995/11
Y1 - 1995/11
N2 - We describe a patient with non-O1, non-O139 Vibrio cholerae septicemia associated with hemorrhagic bullous skin lesions of the lower extremities. The patient had underlying liver disease, and he probably acquired the organism through ingestion of raw clams. Although his condition rapidly improved during appropriate therapy, the patient’s cellulitis and skin lesions persisted and he developed a fluid collection of the lower extremity that required drainage. Molecular methods were used to examine the non-O1 V. cholerae isolate for several known virulence factors of V. cholerae O1. The isolate failed to express cholera toxin and toxin-coregulated pilus (Tcp) and was negative in Southern hybridizations for ctxB, tcpA, toxR, and toxT. The vast majority of vibrio infections in the United States are clustered in the Gulf Coast area. This patient acquired the infection on Cape Cod. To our knowledge, this is the first case of non-01 V. cholerae septicemia reported to have occurred in Massachusetts. Given the high fatality rate of this infection, it is important for physicians to consider this diagnosis in patients who have underlying risk factors and appropriate epidemiologic exposures, even when they reside as far north as the New England states.
AB - We describe a patient with non-O1, non-O139 Vibrio cholerae septicemia associated with hemorrhagic bullous skin lesions of the lower extremities. The patient had underlying liver disease, and he probably acquired the organism through ingestion of raw clams. Although his condition rapidly improved during appropriate therapy, the patient’s cellulitis and skin lesions persisted and he developed a fluid collection of the lower extremity that required drainage. Molecular methods were used to examine the non-O1 V. cholerae isolate for several known virulence factors of V. cholerae O1. The isolate failed to express cholera toxin and toxin-coregulated pilus (Tcp) and was negative in Southern hybridizations for ctxB, tcpA, toxR, and toxT. The vast majority of vibrio infections in the United States are clustered in the Gulf Coast area. This patient acquired the infection on Cape Cod. To our knowledge, this is the first case of non-01 V. cholerae septicemia reported to have occurred in Massachusetts. Given the high fatality rate of this infection, it is important for physicians to consider this diagnosis in patients who have underlying risk factors and appropriate epidemiologic exposures, even when they reside as far north as the New England states.
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U2 - 10.1093/clinids/21.5.1330
DO - 10.1093/clinids/21.5.1330
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 8589171
AN - SCOPUS:0028799450
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 21
SP - 1330
EP - 1333
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
IS - 5
ER -