Seal Finger - A Case Study for Antibiotic Use

Seal Finger is the hilarious name for a not-so hilarious disease in which people bitten by seals (or really anything in the pinniped family) often contract strange infections from the bite. Historically these infections have resulted in amputation, but even though the incidence of these bites is at all time lows new developments and case studies have lead to effective treatment of Seal Finger. In 2014 an Alaskan man returned from a seal hunt and displayed swollen, red fingers with stiffness and leakage. After the symptoms failed to go away in time he was seen at a hospital in Anchorage where he was treated with a number of cell wall inhibitors (Ceftriaxone, followed by Piperacillin/Tazobactam) with no success. After signs of the infection spread through-out his body (patient had symptoms of the groin and legs) DNA analysis was done on biological samples and confirmed the presence of mycoplasma bacterial DNA. The patient was then promptly treated with Doxycycline, to great effect. Characterization of the Novel mycoplasma apparently found in the mouths of seals has enabled medicine to better promptly treat Seal Finger, leading to the prompt and effective treatment when a child was bitten by a sea lion in 2017. While this may not represent a significant finding in terms of lives saved annually, it still is a good example of a one scurrilous condition now brought under control by modern medical techniques and rationales.

Sources:
https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/62/4/491/2462638
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2827281/
https://www.livescience.com/59266-girl-attacked-by-sea-lion-receiving-seal-finger-treatment.html