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Vibrio vulnificus causes skin infections in normal hosts. It causes septic shock, bullous skin lesions, thrombocytopenia, and disseminated intravascular coagulation in immunocompromised hosts, including patients with chronic liver disease. [CCDM, p. 115-6] Wound infections occur after cleaning fish, shelling crabs, or shucking oysters. The organisms grow in warm seawater (greater than 60 degrees F). Susceptible patients include those with cirrhosis, hemochromatosis, thalassemia, AIDS, and diabetes. Eating undercooked seafood contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus can result in sepsis and shock in these immunocompromised patients. [ID, p. 667] |