title: Vibrio infections on the Gulf Coast: results of first year of regional surveillance. Gulf Coast Vibrio Working Group.
abstract: In 1989, the first year of coordinated Vibrio surveillance in four Gulf Coast states (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas), 121 infections were reported. These included 34 V. parahaemolyticus, 30 V. cholerae non-O1, 18 V. vulnificus, 9 V. hollisae, 7 V. alginolyticus, and 7 V. fluvialis. Fourteen patients had primary septicemia, 71 had gastroenteritis, and 29 had wound infections; 7 had other or unknown illnesses. Sixty-six patients were hospitalized, and 9 died. All patients with primary septicemia, but only 17% of those with gastroenteritis, were known to have an underlying illness (P < .001). Among patients for whom data were available, 67% with primary septicemia and 74% with gastroenteritis ate raw oysters in the week before illness began. Of 50 patients with data on where oysters were obtained, 42 (84%) ate them at oyster bars or restaurants. These data provide evidence that in the Gulf Coast region raw oyster consumption is an important cause of Vibrio-associated gastroenteritis among adults without underlying illnesses.
authors.affiliation: Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Griffin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010125:Ostreidae; D012623:Seawater; D012758:Shellfish; D015144:Southeastern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D014735:Vibrio Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology