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Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Staphylococcus aureus Growth using Human Hemoglobin as an Iron Source
Published on: February 7, 2013
Hemochromatosis, iron and septicemia caused by Vibrio vulnificus
J J Bullen1, P B Spalding, C G Ward
1Department of Surgery, University of Miami, School of Medicine, FL 33101.
Vibrio vulnificus is killed by normal human blood but grows rapidly in blood from patients with hemochromatosis. It also grows in normal blood if the saturation of the transferrin is increased or if hematin, which contains iron, is added. It is suggested that the increased availability of iron in the blood of patients with chronic iron overload is responsible for their enhanced susceptibility to infection with V vulnificus.
Vibrio vulnificus is killed by normal human blood but grows rapidly in blood from patients with hemochromatosis. It also grows in normal blood if the saturation of the transferrin is increased or if hematin, which contains iron, is added. It is suggested that the increased availability of iron in the blood of patients with chronic iron overload is responsible for their enhanced susceptibility to infection with V vulnificus.
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