Necrotizing Fasciitis Due to Photobacterium damsela in a Man Lashed by a Stingray

Abstract

To the Editor: A variety of vibrio species can cause gastroenteritis, wound infections, and primary septicemia as well as illness among marine organisms.1,2 Photobacterium damsela (formerly Vibrio damsela) is similar to other species of the genus vibrio, which are halophilic, gram-negative bacilli.3 We describe a 43-year-old man with necrotizing fasciitis as a result of a laceration inflicted by a stingray while he was stepping off his sailboat in Tampa Bay, Florida. The patient first presented to the emergency department of another hospital, where the wound to his right tibialis anterior muscle was irrigated and sutured approximately six hours . . .