Uronema Marinum

[Huskymaniac]

Acidophilus and probiotics my friend

I found the Floraster works the best. I think my issues may have been caused by the probiotics and my digestive track adjusting to them.

 

[tdlawdo]

I found the Floraster works the best. I think my issues may have been caused by the probiotics and my digestive track adjusting to them.

Maybe so. Good idea

 

[Reefster]

I also recommend always wearing gloves when hands are in tank. I nicked my arm with a rock a few years back and it landed me in the Hospital for 3 days of Intravenous Antibiotics and 2 months of Antibiotics after! Doctors thought of it might have been M. Marinum also but they couldn't confirm it because they said it was very difficult to grow a culture and nothing showed up. They did cultures 3 times and were unable to confirm anything! They were throwing words around like Vibrio vulnificus, the saltwater flesh eating bacteria! I can tell it was serious with how many Doctors were trying to figure out what it was. Then the Orthopedic doctor came in, looked at it and asked me, "is that your Dominate arm?" I really new it was Possibly loosing arm serious then! The doctors took a lot of photos and before they released me, Doc asked...could I take some more pics...This is going into the Medical books for reference! This Infection grew quick and was travelling fast! Our tanks are no joke folks, be safe and wear gloves! Thanks god I still have my dominate hand!

 

[Huskymaniac]

I also recommend always wearing gloves when hands are in tank. I nicked my arm with a rock a few years back and it landed me in the Hospital for 3 days of Intravenous Antibiotics and 2 months of Antibiotics after! Doctors thought of it might have been M. Marinum also but they couldn't confirm it because they said it was very difficult to grow a culture and nothing showed up. They did cultures 3 times and were unable to confirm anything! They were throwing words around like Vibrio vulnificus, the saltwater flesh eating bacteria! I can tell it was serious with how many Doctors were trying to figure out what it was. Then the Orthopedic doctor came in, looked at it and asked me, "is that your Dominate arm?" I really new it was Possibly loosing arm serious then! The doctors took a lot of photos and before they released me, Doc asked...could I take some more pics...This is going into the Medical books for reference! This Infection grew quick and was travelling fast! Our tanks are no joke folks, be safe and wear gloves! Thanks god I still have my dominate hand!

You weren't in the Dominican Republic having cocktails out of the mini fridge? In all seriousness gloves are important. I will definitly be wearing them when doing any type of work in the tank that requires me moving anything.

 

[Huskymaniac]

I also recommend always wearing gloves when hands are in tank. I nicked my arm with a rock a few years back and it landed me in the Hospital for 3 days of Intravenous Antibiotics and 2 months of Antibiotics after! Doctors thought of it might have been M. Marinum also but they couldn't confirm it because they said it was very difficult to grow a culture and nothing showed up. They did cultures 3 times and were unable to confirm anything! They were throwing words around like Vibrio vulnificus, the saltwater flesh eating bacteria! I can tell it was serious with how many Doctors were trying to figure out what it was. Then the Orthopedic doctor came in, looked at it and asked me, "is that your Dominate arm?" I really new it was Possibly loosing arm serious then! The doctors took a lot of photos and before they released me, Doc asked...could I take some more pics...This is going into the Medical books for reference! This Infection grew quick and was travelling fast! Our tanks are no joke folks, be safe and wear gloves! Thanks god I still have my dominate hand!

Did they ever figure out what it was? MM usually doesnt cause issues other than gnarly looking skin lesions after a few weeks of being infected. My cultures came back negative as well. The biopsy showed acid fast bacteria so 100% confirmed it was an atypical mycobacterium infection. There are at least 2 other myco infections that can be transmitted via fish tanks. Regardless I think the treatment is the same for all.

 

[rkpetersen]

The biopsy showed acid fast bacteria so 100% confirmed it was an atypical mycobacterium infection.

When I was back in training ages ago, we did staining and microscopy for many things in a mini lab right in the patient ward.
Still remember the first time I saw acid fast bacilli. Tb was so common in Baltimore that we saw them pretty often and called them 'red snappers'.

 

[Huskymaniac]

So as of Friday I am officially cured. Taking the last 6 weeks of antibiotics and will finish up right around labor day. Nice little scar as a reminder to wear gloves.

 

[tdlawdo]

When I was back in training ages ago, we did staining and microscopy for many things in a mini lab right in the patient ward.
Still remember the first time I saw acid fast bacilli. Tb was so common in Baltimore that we saw them pretty often and called them 'red snappers'.

Bed side cold agglutinins ..those were the days my friend!! My son is a resident and he was telling his attending and other residents about those tests and they were clueless...generation lost..

 

[Chrisv.]

No I did ask him though if I should take chloroquine phosphate. Haha

Lol this comment aged WELL.

 

[Chrisv.]

Sorry for posting on a necrothread. Thrilled to see that this worked out for you, OP. I was on the edge of my seat, rooting for you for all five pages.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Zoonotic diseases are present in aquariums, not just Mycobacteria. Here is a section on human safety from my fish disease book:

Preventing human infection
The following safety steps are intended to help prevent human infections from atypical “non-pulmonary” Mycobacterium spp. most commonly encountered in aquariums (M. marinum, M. fortuitum, and M. chelonae) as well as other potentially infectious bacteria:

1. Gloves should be worn by anyone working in aquariums, handling seafood products, or performing a necropsy on an animal. Aquarists should wash their hands with a germicidal soap after removing the gloves.

2. If shared for human food preparation, all work surfaces and kitchen equipment should be decontaminated after each use. A 10% solution of household bleach in water (5000 ppm sodium hypochlorite) is an effective disinfectant.

3. Never siphon aquarium water by mouth—the risk of ingesting contaminated water is too great. Start siphons by filling the hose with tap water first.

4. Foods for human consumption should always be stored separate from frozen or fresh aquarium seafoods.

5. Immune-compromised persons should be especially careful around aquariums, as they are more susceptible to infection and more likely to exhibit serious complications if they do become infected.


Jay

 

[jvbear]



M. marinum is likely in most aquariums. It is also found in swimming pools (no longer common with chlorination) and most bodies of water that are relatively stagnant.
This family of bacteria has many species. Not to scare you but Tuberculosis and Leprosy come from this genus.
My daughter had a M. avium infection when we had several parrots.
If your hand turns out to have an M marinum infection, it likely entered from a pre existing cut. It may take several weeks of specific antibiotics to heal the wound.
While I am not sure I doubt you can rid the tank of the organism.
Hope it gets better soon.

This is a pretty thorough article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01652176.2018.1447171

I thought chlorine in swimming pools would kill bacteria.