Drug-Resistant Skin Disease Plagues Lobstermen

A strain of a drug-resistant skin disease that has afflicted sports teams, prisons and military units is now proving a persistent pest among lobstermen and their families on a Maine island.

Over the past two summers, more than 30 people on Vinalhaven have come down with painful and persistent skin infections that required repeated treatments with intravenous antibiotics for some of the victims – but medical authorities say lobster lovers need not worry.

There's no indication that the germ is linked to lobsters, and boiling or steaming them would kill any bacteria that infected fishermen who handle them might leave behind, said Dr. Stephen Sears, Maine state epidemiologist.

The working theory is that methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA, moves easily among lobstermen because their work – hauling traps, cutting bait, handling lobsters – causes plenty of scraped knuckles, pinched fingers, and small cuts and nicks, giving MRSA a foothold, Sears said.

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