Girl Bit by Seal Lion Treated with ‘Seal Finger’ Disease. Have you Heard of This?

The video of the six-year-old girl being dragged into the water by the sea lion had gone viral. The incident happened at the Vancouver Aquarium where the girl who was standing near the dock was pulled by her dress by the seal. The girl suffered small wounds and was initially proclaimed to be safe. But later the staff had raised concerns over ‘seal finger’ disease.

The girl had a small cut due to the sea lion attack and the aquarium staff talked to the media about the seal finger disease. This has also brought the disease into the limelight and has increased awareness about it. The visitors are requested not to feed the sea lion or come close to the dock. The little girl was prescribed antibiotics for her injury primarily, but later the issue of seal finger infection was raised by the experts.

What is Seal Finger?

The causative agent for the infection is Mycoplasma bacteria and it mostly resides in the mouth of sea mammals. This bacterium can be dangerous if it finds its way into the human blood stream. The first case report of the disease was created in 2009.

Previous Report

The disease was misdiagnosed in a case in 2009 and the patient was later sent to a hand specialist. The causative agent, Mycoplasma phocacerebrale, was isolated from the infected finger. This was verified by identifying the same organism from the mouth of the seal that bit the patient. The treatment includes antibiotic tetracycline.

Seal Finger Symptoms

The bacteria find its way into the blood stream. And the first symptoms are cellulitis and reduced movement. If left untreated, it causes joint inflammation and can even lead to contracted joint. Long back, when the causative agent or the treatment was not found, the infection led to amputation.

The WBC count in the patient would increase with neutrophilia. The X-rays usually came out clean but in the later stages, it showed joint damage in cases that were left untreated.

Mode of Infection

As said, the infection is spread from the sea mammal, mostly from the bite. It can also spread from seal meat, or seal pelt. In 2009, the patient had contracted the bacteria while working on seal meat. The incubation time varies from 7 to 15 days.

In the earlier half of the 20th century, fishermen often had their hand amputated without a proper solution.  They would rather sacrifice their finger than losing the wages. There are still cases of misdiagnosis and wrong treatment. This is due to the rarity of the disease. Luckily, the girl is now in safe hands and is being specifically treated with the right antibiotics.