Seal finger

Seal finger, also known as sealer's finger and spekk-finger (from the Norwegian for "blubber"), is an infection that afflicts the fingers of sealers and other people who handle pinnipeds, as a result of bites or contact with exposed seal bones; it has also been contracted by exposure to untreated seal pelts. It can cause cellulitis, debilitating joint inflammation, and edema of the bone marrow; untreated, the course of "seal finger" is slow and results often in thickened contracted joint. Historically, seal finger was treated by amputation of the afflicted digits once they became unusable. It was first described scientifically in 1907.