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Raw Oysters Linked to Recent Illness: Recall
Advised
Source
of Article: http://www.emaxhealth.com/1024/75/30036/raw-oysters-linked-recent-illness-recall-advised.html
Submitted
by Ramona Bates MD on Mar 23rd, 2009
A recent outbreak of
Norovirus has been linked to raw oysters. The Food and Drug
Administration( FDA) is advising a recall of oysters harvested between
Feb. 24 and March 17, 2009, from Mississippi Area 2C, located in the
Mississippi Sound portion of the Gulf of Mexico near Pass Christian,
Miss. They are advising retailer and food service operators not to offer
these oysters for sale. They are advising that consumers who may have
purchased these oysters not to eat them.
If you are unsure as to the
origin of your purchased oysters, you are advised to contact the place
where you purchased the oysters and ask if they are from the affected
area mentioned above. Retailers and food service operators can check the
tag or labeling that should accompany all raw molluscan shellfish to
verify its origin.
Approximately a dozen
individuals have reported becoming sick after eating raw oysters consumed
in a restaurant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Chattanooga-Hamilton
County Health Department and Tennessee Department of Health confirmed
that the patients were infected with norovirus.
Norovirus is a foodborne
pathogen that can cause acute gastroenteritis in humans. The symptoms of
norovirus illness begin suddenly, most often in 24 to 48 hours after
ingestion of the virus, but they can appear as early as 12 hours after
exposure. The gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea, and some stomach cramping.
In addition to
gastrointestinal symptoms, infected persons may have a low-grade fever,
chills, headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness. In most
the illness is self-limiting with symptoms lasting for about 1 or 2 days.
Children tend to experience more vomiting than adults.
People infected with
norovirus are contagious from the moment they begin feeling ill until at
least 3 days after recovery. Some people may be contagious for as long as
2 weeks after recovery. It is particularly important for people to use
good hand washing and hygiene after they have recently recovered from
norovirus illness.
People with weakened immune
systems, including those affected by AIDS, chronic alcohol abuse, liver,
stomach or blood disorders, cancer, diabetes, or kidney disease should
never consume raw oysters, regardless of where the oysters are harvested.
For more information on
seafood safety, please visit >FDA or call FDA’s Food Safety
Hotline at 1-888-SAFEFOOD.
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