Seal bites at sub-Antarctic Marion Island: Incidence, outcomes and treatment recommendations
Seal bites at sub-Antarctic Marion Island: Incidence, outcomes and treatment recommendations
Seal biologists at Marion Island (Southern Ocean) are in frequent contact with seals. During research activities, biologists may be bitten by seals, yet no standardised protocol for treating such bites is in place. Information on 22 seal bite cases at Marion Island was collected. Treatment of these bites varied, reflecting a need for standardised protocols for the treatment of bites. Recommendations for the in-field treatment of bites are presented. Five of the 22 cases had some symptoms which resembled ‘seal finger’ – a zoonotic infection, usually of the hands, that is contracted after a person comes into contact with tissues of seals or is bitten by one. However, in four of these cases, symptoms subsided within 4 days without antibiotic treatment; in the fifth case antibiotics were administered and symptoms subsided in 4 days. There is little evidence of the occurrence of seal finger at Marion Island, but this deserves further investigation.
Bite, Infection, Marine mammal, Treatment, Zoonoses
Reisinger, Ryan R.
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Penfold, Miles
a79aff73-3dc7-4ca5-b36b-b9d789e85c53
Bester, Marthán N.
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Steenkamp, Gerhard
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2020
Reisinger, Ryan R.
4eaf9440-48e5-41fa-853f-d46457e5444e
Penfold, Miles
a79aff73-3dc7-4ca5-b36b-b9d789e85c53
Bester, Marthán N.
41dd4579-d0bb-430f-9044-9d98a55d548c
Steenkamp, Gerhard
7d11fcd6-5df3-4e62-b02e-2f44cedfdd72
Reisinger, Ryan R., Penfold, Miles, Bester, Marthán N. and Steenkamp, Gerhard
(2020)
Seal bites at sub-Antarctic Marion Island: Incidence, outcomes and treatment recommendations.
Journal of the South African Veterinary Association, 91, [a1720].
(doi:10.4102/jsava.v91i0.1720).
Abstract
Seal biologists at Marion Island (Southern Ocean) are in frequent contact with seals. During research activities, biologists may be bitten by seals, yet no standardised protocol for treating such bites is in place. Information on 22 seal bite cases at Marion Island was collected. Treatment of these bites varied, reflecting a need for standardised protocols for the treatment of bites. Recommendations for the in-field treatment of bites are presented. Five of the 22 cases had some symptoms which resembled ‘seal finger’ – a zoonotic infection, usually of the hands, that is contracted after a person comes into contact with tissues of seals or is bitten by one. However, in four of these cases, symptoms subsided within 4 days without antibiotic treatment; in the fifth case antibiotics were administered and symptoms subsided in 4 days. There is little evidence of the occurrence of seal finger at Marion Island, but this deserves further investigation.
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1720-13617-2-PB
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Published date: 2020
Keywords:
Bite, Infection, Marine mammal, Treatment, Zoonoses
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Local EPrints ID: 455504
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/455504
ISSN: 1019-9128
PURE UUID: e8fa7084-4e5a-42bf-a5b0-9e9f7cc0bf09
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Date deposited: 23 Mar 2022 17:42
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:08
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Author:
Miles Penfold
Author:
Marthán N. Bester
Author:
Gerhard Steenkamp
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