Vibrio vulnificus is a halophilic estuarine bacterium that causes fatal primary
septicemia and necrotizing wound infections. The gram negative bacterium was first
identified in 1976 and clinical syndromes associated with the organism were described in
1980. In Korea, clinical cases were first reported in 1979 and the bacterium was first
isolated in 1982. The primary septicemia occurs following ingestion of raw seafood. V.
vulnificus preferentially affects subjects with hepatic diseases, heavy alcohol drinking
habit, diabetes mellitus, hemochromatosis, and immunosuppression from corticosteroid
therapy, AIDS, and malignancy. The primary septicemia progresses very rapidly and
results in high fatality, 50 to 80% in a day or two.
Researches about V. vulnificus have been focused on the ecological distribution,
virulence factors, diversities among clinical and environmental isolates, nonculturability
under adverse conditions, role of iron in the pathogenesis, and early detection. Since
1984, our laboratory has been studying V. vulnificus concerning bacteriological
characterization, preventive measures, antimicrobial therapies, early detection, and
pathogenesis. Among tile topics, I want to restrict this review to the early detection by
nested PCR and the molecular biological studies on the virulence regulation that have
been performed in our laboratory during last two or three years.
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