Summary

• Infections caused by Vibrio species other than V cholerae.
• Associated with the consumption of raw or undercooked shellfish, or traumatic exposure to sea or brackish water, and characterised by diarrhoea and vomiting, sepsis, and/or skin/soft-tissue infection.
• V vulnificus is the most virulent and can rapidly produce fatal septic shock in immunocompromised patients or those with underlying liver disease.
• The diagnosis is based on blood, wound, and/or stool cultures.
• Treatment consists of intravenous ceftazidime plus doxycycline for those with sepsis or severe systemic infection. Patients with necrotising skin/soft-tissue infection additionally require early aggressive debridement of the infected tissue. Localised skin/soft-tissue wound infections are managed with oral antibiotics and close observation.
• Gastroenteritis syndromes are treated with rehydration. Oral antibiotics are indicated if diarrhoea persists >5 days.
• Prognosis varies with the host's underlying comorbidity and the clinical presentation of the infection.