An acquaintance of mine likes to winter on the West coast of Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico.

He also likes to indulge in raw oysters with a beer chaser while down there. I do not know if he really likes raw oysters, or if they just provide him another opportunity to imbibe an alcoholic beverage, but he usually does not need an excuse to enjoy an adult beverage.

He came back north for the holidays and became ill with what he and his health care providers felt was a GI virus, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. He headed back South, assuming with time he would get well; but he did not.

He developed a fever, severe abdominal cramps and a drop in blood pressure necessitating hospitalization where physicians more familiar with Vibriosis made the diagnosis of a foodborne illness caused by a pathogen called Vibrio vulnificus associated with consuming raw oysters from the Gulf, a condition becoming more common due to the warming of Gulf waters.

The CDC says there are 10,000 cases of Vibriosis every year in the U.S., with 500 hospitalizations and 100 deaths making Vibrio vulnificus the leading cause of death from eating seafood.

My associate came close to being a statistic, close to changing the 100 deaths to 101.

The disease is particularly severe in older men with liver disease or who have consumed too much alcohol in their lifetime. He fit into that demographic. He was advised he could never again drink an alcoholic beverage, but at least he is looking and feeling well again.

The good news is that Vibrio remains nearly 100 percent sensitive to the treatments of choice, those being a combination of a tetracycline and a third generation cephalosporin or a fluoroquinolone.

The bad news is that, although susceptible, treatment with an antibiotic does not shorten the course of the infection and its side effects.

I am told that if you eat raw oysters from northern waters, your risk of getting infected with Vibrio is less. But there is still a risk, and I do not want to ever be told I can no longer consume an alcoholic beverage, so I swore off of raw oysters a long time ago. A few seconds of enjoyment versus a life time of abstinence just does not compute.

The “Just Cook It” crowd wins this debate.

So why the title “Vibrio and Viagra”, you might be asking yourself?

No reason other than to get a few old guys to read the blog.

Did it work?

Vibrio and Viagra

Join for free* to continue reading.