NSU’s College of Pharmacy, in collaboration with St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, is conducting a research project that they hope will improve treatment methods for victims of shark bites. Using samples from sharks captured during The Blacktip Challenge, researchers are studying the effects of shark bacteria on victims.
The Blacktip Challenge is an annual 72-hour South Florida fishing tournament in which anglers and researchers work to capture, tag, study and release as many sharks as possible.
According to Joshua Jorgensen, the tournament’s founder and director, researchers from NSU and St. Mary’s contacted him in 2012 with the intent of joining the endeavor. The challenge’s fifth tournament took place Jan. 30 through Feb.3, with 64 anglers from all across Florida — from St. Augustine to Key Biscayne —participating.
On the beach at Singer Island, in Palm Beach County, the group caught and tabbed the sharks and swabbed the insides of the sharks’ mouths. The trip was documented by “BlacktipH Fishing”, one of the largest online fishing shows in the world.
Nathan Unger, assistant professor at NSU’s College of Pharmacy, is the lead researcher in the study. Unger, who caught his first shark on the first day of the tournament, said researchers obtained about 50 samples from a variety of species.
“The goal is to see what bacteria is there so we can know what antibiotics to use to treat future shark bite victims,” he said. “It would be interesting to see if different species of shark have different species of bacteria.”
Blacktip sharks are the focus because there is currently an annual blacktip migration throughout South Florida.
“We want to focus on the ones that are more common for bites,” said Unger. “If they’re the ones most often implicated for bites, we want to know what’s in their mouths.”
According to Robert Borrego, medical director of St. Mary’s trauma, physicians are currently unaware of the specific strains of bacteria present in sharks and use a “shotgun” antibiotic that kills a wide range of bacteria. Although no one has ever died from an infected shark bite, the treatment in severe cases can be difficult and can often involve the removal of muscle.
This research endeavor is important because Florida has consistently ranked among areas with the most reported shark bites per year; the state comprises 25 percent of the nation’s annual shark bite incidents.
Prahasi Kacham, freshman biology major, shares the opinion of the researchers.
“This study is important, especially in South Florida, because it’s a matter of helping people’s lives,” Kacham said.
The advancements made with antibiotics will have the potential to improve the quality of life for many beachgoers.
