When to Suspect an Infection by a Vibrio Species

Description

Vibrio infections tend to be uncommon in developed countries. Janda et al listed certain clinical findings that should prompt the clinician to suspect that an infection in a patient might be caused by a Vibrio species. The authors are from the California Department of Health Services in Berkeley.

When to test a patient for a Vibrio species:

(1) recent history of eating raw or barely cooked seafood, especially oysters

(2) foreign travel to, or recent immigration from, a developing country, especially one that is endemic for a Vibrio species or with a current cholera epidemic

(3) wound infection

(3a) at the site of trauma that has been in contact with seawater

(3b) at the site of a salt water fish bite

(3c) caused by a marine-associated product (shellfish, other)

(4) gastroenteritis with "rice water stools"

(5) unexplained infection after a recent contact with a marine environment or product

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When to Suspect an Infection by a Vibrio Species

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