Illness caused by Vibrio damsela and Vibrio hollisae

Vibrio damsela was isolated from six wound infections in otherwise healthy persons. In five of the six cases the wounds were known to have been exposed to salt or brackish water at the time of the injury. Vibrio hollisae was isolated from an index stool culture in nine cases in which no other enteric pathogen was identified. All nine patients had diarrhoea and abdominal pain; one patient had bloody diarrhoea. Six of the nine patients were known to have eaten raw seafood in the five days before they became ill. These data suggest that both V. damsela and V. hollisae can produce diseases with distinct clinical and epidemiological characteristics.