Abstract:
Seal biologists at Marion Island (Southern Ocean) are in frequent contact with seals. During
research activities, biologists may be bitten by seals, yet no standardised protocol for treating
such bites is in place. Information on 22 seal bite cases at Marion Island was collected.
Treatment of these bites varied, reflecting a need for standardised protocols for the treatment
of bites. Recommendations for the in-field treatment of bites are presented. Five of the
22 cases had some symptoms which resembled ‘seal finger’ – a zoonotic infection, usually of
the hands, that is contracted after a person comes into contact with tissues of seals or is
bitten by one. However, in four of these cases, symptoms subsided within 4 days without
antibiotic treatment; in the fifth case antibiotics were administered and symptoms subsided
in 4 days. There is little evidence of the occurrence of seal finger at Marion Island, but this
deserves further investigation.
