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Infections, etc.
Being in the field of Epidemiology, the recent questions about acquiring =
potentially dangerous pathogens via the aquarium piqued my interest so I =
thought I would do some quick research of medical literature and see if =
there are any significant findings. I thought others might be interested =
in the results, so I have summarized them below:
I found an article out of Sweden titled "Sporothricoid mycobacterial =
infection. A case report.". The abstract states: "A case of bilateral, =
symmetric, sporothricoid granulomas involving the dorsa of fingers and =
wrists is reported. The culture-proved Mycobacterium marinum skin =
infection was acquired by a fish-fancier while clearing his aquarium =
with bare hands. The patient suffered from chronic hand eczema. =
Treatment with co-trimoxazole was successful. "
Another article out of Norway (Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen Vol. 113 no. 13 =
pp. 1569-70) called "Aquarium-borne Mycobacterium marinum infection" =
reported: "Three cases of cutaneous Mycobacterium marinum infection are =
described. All these patients had most probably been infected from home =
aquariums. In one of the patients, M. marinum was isolated by culturing =
a biopsy specimen from a lesion. Clinical remission was achieved by =
means of antituberculous triple therapy, trimethoprim-sulfonamide, and =
no treatment, respectively."
There were also a report of Vibrio cholerae in Hong Kong which was =
related to fish tank water, but they stated that the outbreak was most =
likely due to the use of contaminated sea-water (instead of =
reconstituted tap water) in the tanks. Also, the people got sick from =
*consuming* the fish, and not just handling them :-)=20
Other than the above articles, very little could be found. There were no =
reports of deaths or other serious consequences. Considering how long =
people have been keeping fish in their homes, I would hardly be =
concerned about getting ill from fish keeping. Following common sense =
such as washing your arms and hands thoroughly after working in/around =
the aquarium will go a long way in preventing any type of pathogen =
transmission.
Sorry for such a lengthy post, but since there was so much concern, I =
thought I would share my findings.
Farzan S.
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