How eating sushi became a reason for a 71 year old man to have an amputation

Japanese cuisine is one of the finest in the world. Some dishes are surprising, especially raw fish, but are now making a name for themselves in many cities where restaurants are springing up offering them. We think of maki but also obviously of chirashi and other nigiri sushi. The important thing is freshness and total respect for health rules.

Now, in many cities, we are increasingly able to sample food from around the world, which is fantastic. Because the whole world is full of tastes, spices and dishes so different that you didn’t even know they existed. Among the many dishes that have become very popular all over the world are of course the famous sush: raw fish, shrimp, raw vegetables, Japanese omelet, etc.

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But for a 71-year-old Korean, a plate of sushi almost cost him his life, as Ekstra Bladet pointed out. After the meal, the man contracted an infection, which led to such serious complications that doctors had to amputate a large part of his arm. His case was the subject of an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The man had eaten a portion of sushi which was not well prepared at all. Shortly after the meal, he had seen blisters and wounds appear on his hand and arm. Twelve hours after eating the contaminated sushi, his left hand swelled up so much that liquid leaked out, causing unbearable pain.

The 71-year-old previously struggled with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, and had also been treated for kidney disease. He was taken to the hospital and the doctors immediately noticed that there was something completely wrong. He was immediately examined and doctors found the man had a blood filled cavity which measured 3.5 x 4.5 centimeters in his left hand as the hand continued to swell.

New England Journal of Medicine

During the examination, the man explained that he had eaten sushi and immediately afterwards doctors found that he had contracted a very powerful bacterial infection. Doctors have indeed diagnosed in humans the disease Vibrio vulnificus, also called sea cholera. A bacterium that lives in estuaries and coastal seas. The bacteria can infect the body if the person eats raw sea food. But it can also pass through openings in the skin. if, for example, one bathes in this type of water with open wounds.

Source : nejm.org