Can you get Mycobacterium marinum in freshwater?

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Can you get Mycobacterium marinum in freshwater?

Post by PuffTheMagicFishy »

Can you get Mycobacterium marinum (Fish TB) in freshwater? All the articles I've read seem to mention marine tanks only. Anyhoo, the reason I ask is that I have this very small scratch on my finger that I forgot about while cleaning the tanks last week, and so it got exposed to the water. Yesterday it started swelling up and today it looks like it has a dried pea stuffed under it. I'm getting rather worried. I've put antibiotic ointment on it and we'll see what happens after a couple of days. It may just be a run-of-the-mill infection.

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Post by PetPirate »

I don't know if that particular bacterium survives in freshwater, but if your hand is swelling up that much that fast, I would definitely visit the doctor. Especially if your veins are beginning to show up around the area. Such infections can become very serious very quickly.
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Post by Myaj »

I believe you can, but I'd be more inclined to not panic and assume its probably a run of the mill infected cut, however if it does not get better in a day or two I'd definately be getting a doctor appointment and letting them know the situation.

But I'm one of those "farm girls" that if I get an infected cut I just lance it, clean it out, rinse it out with alcohol and keep going...
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Post by Hilly »

I recently read an article in Practical Fishkeeping about this where a woman became infected with Fish TB and while it is rare, it wouldnt hurt to get yourself checked out by a doctor. Best to be on the safe side.
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Post by RTR »

Yes, fish TB can and does occur in FW.

See your physician. The odds are against TB, but it is a difficult infection to treat if it happens to be the case, so better to get it on record and checked out ASAP.
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Post by PuffTheMagicFishy »

Thank you everyone for the advice. I think the swelling may have gone down a tiny bit today, so I'll still give it a couple more days with the antibiotic ointment. If it's still swollen on Thursday or Friday, or if it keeps getting bigger, I'll definitely go in to see a doctor. Normally I don't worry too much about infected cuts (they're just a nuisance), but I've never had one swell up this much. I'll let you guys know how it goes.[/i]
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Post by Pufferpunk »

Mycobacterium marinum causes a chronic progressive fish disease found in freshwater, saltwater, and brackish environments.

See: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003- ... /index.php
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Post by PuffTheMagicFishy »

Yep! That's the article that got me worried in the first place. :wink:

I tried lancing it yesterday and again today. Absolutely nothing came out, no matter how many times I poked it with a pin. Other than that, there has been no change in size and I am continuing with the ointment.
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Post by fatpuffer »

I would go see the doctor just in case. A petland worker here got it while cleaning the bioballs/overflow and it was pretty expensive for medications needed to treat it. She got scars from it as well.

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Post by PuffTheMagicFishy »

The swelling has gone down to almost nothing, thank goodness! I'm going to go buy myself a pair of elbow-length rubber gloves so I don't have to go worrying about every swollen cut. Thank you everyone for your help and concern--thankfully it looks like a false alarm. :D
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