The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing information about the risk of contracting a Vibrio infection when consuming raw oysters. Summer is prime oyster season. And it’s the time of year when most illnesses from raw oysters occur. In fact, a man in Washington state recently contracted a Vibrio infection when he purchased … Read more
Another food poisoning outbreak associated with the consumption of raw oysters has sickened people in Seattle, Washington. This time it’s at the White Swan Public House at 1001 Fairview Avenue North. Six people from two separate parties got sick after eating raw oysters at the restaurant on June 30 and July 3, 2017. No … Read more
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is currently investigating a company-issued recall by Fisherman’s Market International Inc. of its Standard Northern Nova Oysters, a brand sold for raw consumption. There is a possibility that these products were contaminated with Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterium that can occur at high levels in coastal waters during warm summer … Read more
A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that climate change is increasing the incidence of Vibrio infections in the United States. Long term ecological data analysis has found that climate change is affecting marine animal, plant, and fungi populations. Marine prokaryotes (single celled organisms), the largest living biomass in the … Read more
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a mechanism used by some types of bacteria that cause food poisoning. That mechanism is used to tell the bacteria when they are in the human gut, where they release the toxins that cause illness. Scientists studied Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterium that grows in shellfish in saltwater … Read more
Industry is recalling oysters harvested from British Columbia coastal waters on or before August 18, 2015 and intended for use as raw consumption for possible Vibrio parahaemolyticus contamination. Consumers should not eat these oysters raw and retailers and food service establishments should not sell or use them. There is no UPC number on these products, … Read more
A Vibrio outbreak linked to raw oysters has sickened 67 people in Canada. The illnesses have been reported in British Columbia and Alberta. Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria naturally occurs in coastal waters during warmer months. Shellfish that is contaminated with Vibrio doesn’t smell or taste off but it does cause illness. Symptoms of a Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection include watery or bloody diarrhea, … Read more
Vancouver Coastal Health has issued a public service announcement, stating that restaurants in that province must cook oysters harvested in British Columbia before serving. Only oysters harvested outside of that province may be served raw at this time. An ongoing outbreak of Vibrio parahaemolyticus relating to the consumption of raw oysters is ongoing in Canada. … Read more
The Florida Department of Health is warning shellfish lovers and beachgoers about a Vibrio outbreak in that state. Vibrio is a flesh-eating bacteria that has infected seven people so far. Two people have died of their infections. People can develop this infection when they eat raw shellfish or if they swim in contaminated seawater with open wounds. The … Read more
Did you hear about the six-state tilapia outbreak that sickened 33 people in 2013? Me either. A new CDC report about 2013 food poisoning outbreaks reveals 18 multistate outbreaks that were never made public. Five of them had fatalities. Of the 818 food posioning outbreaks that year, 26 included multiple states but only seven of those … Read more