A fatal case of Vibrio vulnificus cellulitis with septicaemia

Vibrio vulnificus is a gram-negative marine bacterium that may cause local wound infection, distinctive soft tissue infection, gastroenteritis and septicaemia with a high mortality rate. A healthy man presented with severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea and fever followed by development of multiple blisters, cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis of the lower limbs, who progressed rapidly to fulminant sepsis caused by this organism. Vibrio vulnificus septicaemia should be suspected in the presence of sepsis and progressive soft-tissue infection with recent history of raw seafood consumption.