Vibrio vulnificus

Common card · No. 240211

Vibrio vulnificus is a species of Gram-negative, motile, curved rod-shaped (vibrio), pathogenic bacteria of the genus Vibrio. Present in marine environments such as estuaries, brackish ponds, or coastal areas, V. vulnificus is related to V. cholerae, the causative agent of cholera. At least one strain of V. vulnificus is bioluminescent. Increasing seasonal ocean temperatures and low-salt marine environments like estuaries favor a greater concentration of Vibrio within filter-feeding shellfish; V. vulnificus infections in the Eastern United States have increased eightfold from 1988 to 2018. Infection with V. vulnificus leads to rapidly expanding skin infections by entering a wound causing cellulitis or even sepsis. V. vulnificus is also a source of foodborne illness. It was first isolated as a source of disease in 1976.

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