Gulf of Mexico Oysters Recalled

The area that produces almost one-third of Louisiana’s oysters was closed last week and all the oysters harvested from there after Dec. 22 were recalled when more than 150 people in 11 states became ill from eating shellfish contaminated with an as-yet-unidentified virus. No illnesses were reported in Southern California.

Although the specific virus in the oyster outbreak has not been identified, officials were quick to point out that it was not the deadly Vibrio vulnificus, which killed four people in Southern California last summer, prompting federal officials to contemplate an outright ban on warm-weather sales of oysters from the Gulf of Mexico.

The culprit is probably a member of the Norwalk family of viruses, said Ken Moore of the Interstate Shellfish Sanitary Conference, an industry group. Those afflicted generally suffered nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, symptoms similar to a 24-hour flu.

The area affected by the recall stretches from the east bank of the Mississippi River to the Mississippi state line and includes most of St. Bernard and Plaquemine parishes, specifically Black Bay, Lake Machias, Lake Fortuna, California Bay, Bay Crabe, Bay Gardene, American Bay and Bay Lafourche.

Stores are required to keep and disclose the origins of any gulf oysters sold. Individuals who want to know the origin of oysters should ask seafood section or grocery store management. If the oysters are from the affected area, they should be returned.

Exactly how the beds were contaminated may never be determined, but Moore said Norwalk-type viruses are generally found in human feces, and he speculated that the source of contamination might have been a ship discharging its waste tanks.

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