A Henry Ford Hospital study says that a skin infection linked to exposure to contaminated water in home aquariums is frequently under-diagnosed.

The study is being presented Saturday at the Infectious Diseases Society of America's annual meeting in San Francisco. In a retrospective study conducted between January 2003 and March 2013, researchers identified five patients ages 43 to 72 treated at Henry Ford for Mycobacterium marinum, which resemble reddish skin lesions or bumps on the hands or arms. Skin biopsies performed on all five patients confirmed the infection. The incubation period before skin lesions appeared ranged from 11 to 56 days. While all five patients responded effectively to antibiotic treatment, it took on average 161 days from the time of initial presentation to time of treatment. "Mycobacterium marinum is not a life-threatening illness, but it remains an unrecognized cause of skin infection," says Dr. Alangaden. "To accelerate diagnosis and treatment, physicians are encouraged to ask detailed questions about the patient's history, especially questions about potential exposure to aquariums."
Source-Eurekalert