Isolation of Mycoplasma Species from a Patient with Seal Finger

The etiologic agent of seal finger (speck finger) is unknown. Seal finger occurs after a seal bite, and the symptoms include acute pain, swelling, discharge, and, in some cases, there is joint involvement. The discovery of Mycoplasma species in epidemics of seal disease prompted attempts to link sea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 1998-11, Vol.27 (5), p.1168-1170
Main Authors: Sullivan Baker, Ann, Ruoff, Kathryn L., Madoff, Sarabelle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the skin
Biological and medical sciences
Bites and stings
Bites and Stings - diagnosis
Bites and Stings - drug therapy
Bites and Stings - microbiology
Chlamydia
Clinical Articles
Etiology
Female
Finger Injuries - microbiology
Fingers
Fingers - microbiology
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infections
Infectious diseases
Medical sciences
Microbiology
Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma - classification
Mycoplasma - isolation & purification
Mycoplasma Infections - diagnosis
Mycoplasma Infections - drug therapy
Mycoplasma Infections - microbiology
Mycoplasma Infections - transmission
Sealants
Seals
Seals, Earless - microbiology
Tetracycline - therapeutic use
Tooth - microbiology
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Summary:The etiologic agent of seal finger (speck finger) is unknown. Seal finger occurs after a seal bite, and the symptoms include acute pain, swelling, discharge, and, in some cases, there is joint involvement. The discovery of Mycoplasma species in epidemics of seal disease prompted attempts to link seal finger to mycoplasma. Mycoplasma species were isolated in cultures of a specimen from the finger of an aquarium trainer who was bitten by a seal and of a specimen from the front teeth of the biting seal. The two Mycoplasma isolates were identical biochemically; they were serum-dependent and hydrolyzed arginine. The isolates were susceptible to tetracycline but resistant to erythromycin. By growth inhibition and immunofluorescent antibody tests, both strains were identified as Mycoplasma phocacerebrale, a mycoplasma isolated in an epidemic of seal disease occurring in the Baltic Sea. The patient's infection was treated successfully with tetracycline. To our knowledge, this is the first case in which a mycoplasma has been associated with seal finger.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1086/514980