Warts caused from Saltwater fish?

[Rickyrooz1]

I've been getting bumps on my hands after working in my tank. I went to a dermatologist and found out I have warts and granuloma annulare which look like a ring shaped bump, they are only on my hands so I'm pretty sure they are from the fish tank. Does anyone know what could be causing this, corals, live rock, fish? I now use 24" long gloves when working in my tank except when I am handling corals.

 

[coralnut99]

I'm certainly not an exper in the field, but I just don't see a connection between the two. I'm absolutely not trying to be funny here, but you should give some thought to what other things you've come in contact with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wart

Your probably dermatologist should answer the question for you.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

I have these bumps on the back of my hand.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

Just found this:

"Fish handlers frequently suffer from hand warts. The clinical form and HPV type in these lesions were studied. Eleven individuals (10 fishmongers and one fisherman) with multiple hand warts were examined clinically and samples from their warts examined by Southern blot and reverse blot analysis. Clinically, with one exception, the warts were of the common type. HPV DNA was detected in all but one individual. HPV4 was found in one sample, HPV1 related virus in three, a virus hybridizing with both HPV27 and HPV2 in five (four individuals) and HPV7 in seven (six individuals). More than one type was detected in four individuals. HPV7 infection was related to the greater length of time spent in handling fish. These findings indicate that HPV7 is not, as was previously thought, found exclusively in those handling butcher meat and suggest that environmental conditions may be a factor in the clinical manifestation of HPV7 infection. The exact nature of a virus designated HPV2/27 and the significance of its presence in these fish handlers remains uncertain."

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1989.tb04163.x

 

[coralnut99]

Hmmm. So it seems there's a connection at least, though not definitive. Though the comparison being made is to people handling fish for a living. This may fall into the same category as folks that have had reactions to palytoxins. Some folks can work with them all day, and some will have severe reactions. It seems in your case tha gloves are certainly a valid precaution.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

It's called "Fish-Tank Granuloma" caused from Mycobacterium Marinum.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/sp/feature/index.php

http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic281.htm

http://www.aquatouch.com/Granuloma.htm

http://www.flippersandfins.net/FishTankGranuloma.htm

 

[happyclam]

Yeah, I read that article in reefkeeping too, pretty freaky. Man, its like with ever pet there is some disease you could catch. With reptiles Salmonella (I used to keep reptiles), with fish Mycobacterium marinum. Sighhhh. At least the fish disease is fairly rare, right? Also, have you gotten them removed yet? Good Luck!

 

[Steven Pro]

You have mentioned three distinct problems. Granuloma annulare is what you have been diagnosed with. The cause of this is not known.

The fishmonger link is for a virus that people that cut up fish for a living were getting.

Fish tank granuloma/Mycobacterium marinum is a bacterial infection.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

I was diagnosed with granuloma annulare after a biopsy. The warts were treated with liquid nitrogen and have started to go away. I have not treated the granuloma because they wanted to make sure that it wasn't a wart. If they used a steroid to treat the granuloma but it was actually a wart it would make the wart grow.

 

[Logzor]

Interesting. FYI do not treat with liquid nitrogen. That stuff really damages large areas of skin if you use the stuff from the store.

Get a lighter and a needle or small piece of metal and melt, get it really hot on the tip and burn the heart of it. This method is much more effective.

I worked at a car wash for 5 years and I got warts on my hands frequently from the moist environment and something else I was handling every day.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

The dermatologist treated my warts with liquid nitrogen, it wasn't from the store.

 

[musty baby]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12703230#post12703230 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Logzor
... and something else I was handling every day.

LOL. We don't need to know what you do alone!

 

[spsfreak]

As an FYI, I too had some "warts", well not really I had what were really hard blisters on my fingers. I had them for as long as I had my 65g up and running as a full blown reef. I went to one of the Pathologist here at my work and ask him to take a look. Aftera lengthy discussion (there was no biopsy done) he said it looked to him like it was from my tank and that it was a particular kind of dermititist reaction. He had a name for it but that was 5 years ago. BTW he is a dematopathologist so he is qualified to make that kind of call. I very shortly afterwards left the hobby due to other reason, every since I have been away from reef tanks I have not had outbreaks. I wnet to a LFS about 4 months ago to look around, I touched some Live Rock that was submerged, shortly after I got the same "blisters". So for me it is without a doubt linked to tanks... moral of my story, I will wear long gloves on my new 75g I'm now setting up; I don't need anymore scars on my right hand fingers from messing around with my favorite obsession.

HTH

 

[jmckdvm]

I had the "marine tuberculosus" many years ago. It was a painless granuloma (bump) on my thumb knuckle, that oozed a little if squeezed. (yummy). I got it from bumping a piece of live rock. They sent me for surgery to have it removed. (A long, sliding skin graft scar will always remind me of this). Two months later, an article came out in FAMA Mag discussing this malady, and claimed that you can make it go away with a course of antibiotics! (tetracyclines). Great!...I had a surgery for nothing!