A raw oysters Salmonella outbreak has sickened at least 27 people in 12 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The oysters were harvested by the Little Wicomico Oyster Company from the Little Wicomico River harvest area in Virginia.
The case count by state is: Connecticut (1), Florida (1), Iowa (1), Illinois (1), Kentucky (1), New Jersey (1), Colorado (2), Indiana (2), Maryland (2), Virginia (3), New York (4), and Pennsylvania (8). The patient age range is from 1 to 86 years, and illness onset dates range from May 29, 2026 to September 14, 2026. Five people have been hospitalized because they are so sick.
This outbreak was first reported by the Virginia Department of Health as caused by oysters and clams harvested from that river. Pennsylvania officials notified that department in Virginia about illnesses in their state and Virginia put a temporary emergency closure from October 9, 2026 through November 7, 2026 for shellfish harvesting on the Little Wicomico River.
A recall was issued by the Virginia Department of Health, Division of Shellfish Safety and Waterborne Hazards for shellstock oysters. The oysters were distributed to these states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Texas. The serotype is Salmonella Telelkebir.
State and local health department agents interviewed people about the foods they ate the week before they got sick. Of 13 people who gave information to public health officials, 10, or 77%, reported eating raw oysters. This percentage was significantly higher than the 1.6% of respondents who ate rate oysters in the FoodNet Population Survey.
Then, whole genome sequencing conducted on patient isolates showed that the bacteria that made them sick was closely related genetically. This means that the patients in this outbreak likely got sick from eating the same food. Officials in Pennsylvania collected samples of raw oysters from a distributor that supplied the shellfish to restaurants where patients said they ate. One oyster sample from the Little Wicomico Oysters Company tested positive for Salmonella; testing on the serotype is pending.
Traceback was conducted for seven of the 10 people who ate raw oysters to see where they came from. Oysters eaten by sick people were harvested from multiple geographic locations, but oysters harvested from the Little Wicomico River by the Little Wicomico Oyster Company were the only oysters in common to the seven ill people included in traceback.
If you have eaten raw oysters and have been ill with the symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning, see your doctor. You may be part of this outbreak.
