Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Kanagawa-negative) wound infection in a hospital dietary employee.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an estuarine bacterium that is a major cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. Occasionally, this organism has also been shown to be the causative agent of wound infections. In almost all cases of gastrointestinal disease only strains that produce hemolysin ("Kanagawa-positive") are implicated. We have isolated a Kanagawa-negative strain of V. parahaemolyticus from serous wound drainage of the infected foot of a hospital dietary employee. To our knowledge, this is only the third documented case of wound infection caused by such an organism. In this instance, the potential threat of nosocomial transmission was of special concern in that the wound infection was present in a hospital food handler.