The Puffer Forum

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/28 ... etail.html

Yuck.

This makes me not want to be near my fish tank...

The scientist part of me is going cool! A rare and unique disease, but my humane side is saying that really sucks and I feel bad for her. She was really good at sports and now she has to give it all up, the article said they may have to amputate = /

fresh or salt water? thats all i wanna know lol.

anyway, this is making me not put my hands in any tank if there are any open wounds or cuts or something unless i can make sure no water can touch it XD

Something we should all do anyway, in case of fish TB!

Never put a hand or arm with any fresh cut or scrape or burn into any fish tank. M. marinum is not all that rare.

RTR wrote:Never put a hand or arm with any fresh cut or scrape or burn into any fish tank. M. marinum is not all that rare.

ooops.... i probably could have gotten this. when my heater broke and all BB/almost all fish died i was reaching in and taking everything out but i had a few cuts on my hands from work that night at the restaurant. that stinks though i feel bad for her as well. all because of doing something so simple like caring for the fish...

but if you can completely cover them or wear a glove that keeps your hand dry, wouldnt it be ok?

also, its on aol news today lol: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/2 ... k3%7C72250

Coverings do not keep out bacteria unless totally watertight. I would skip tank work without double long gloves. I generally just ship tank work myself or keep my hands out of the tanks, even with double gloves. But I have enough equipment to that without much hassle - it is just slower.

RTR wrote:Never put a hand or arm with any fresh cut or scrape or burn into any fish tank. M. marinum is not all that rare.

I must admit that I do that all the time. I always have some scrapes on my hands, and I hate gloves. Yes, I know the risks...

I saw that on the news yesterday.

Troender! Welcome back!

I've gotten some pretty awful infections from zoanthids & cuts.

it was also discussed here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22638&p=242420&hili ... la#p242187

if that is the same thing...

But most diseases caught from animals (wild or captive) are not so hard to diagnose. Mycobacterial infections are nightmares for diagnosis, and equally for treatment/control. The fish need not appear ill - the odds are that many to most infections in fish and in humans are opportunistic. That means in the normal host as well as in humans, the host is in some way immunologically challenged.

As I did lab and experimental work with Hansens Disease (a.k.a leprosy), I very seriously respect any mycobacterial disease, and know enough to be seriously and conscientiously cautious about any potential infection from that group. I am not a fool. Those can be terrible and hugely life-changing conditions. No thank you, I do not want any and I will continue taking serious care of my hands around my tanks.

FWIW