Foodborne Illness: Raw Oysters
In the Fall of 1998, a Southwest Florida man, Mark S., died after eating raw oysters from a local raw bar (a counter in a restaurant that serves raw shellfish). The restaurant is not being held liable. Unfortunately, this tagic story is not a single event.
Local law requires restaurants who serve raw seafood to display a warning sign about the health risk related to ingesting raw seafood, like sashimi, sushi, and oysters.
Customers assume responsibility when choosing to indulge in uncooked seafood. Deaths from the ingestion of raw seafood are relatively uncommon, but they do happen, and the dining public must be made aware of the danger.
The pathogen in the raw seafood, which is undetectable by sight, smell, or taste, is Vibrio vulnificus, a gram-negative bacterium. Most people who eat raw seafood tainted with V. vulnificus may only experience an upset stomach. But others can become seriously ill in a matter of a few hours; and some will die within a few days. graphic courtesy of Frank Stephenson
"Consumers of raw oysters are considered at risk for vulnificus illness if they have hepatitis or other liver disease, are alcoholics, are under immunosuppression treatment for cancer or any other disease, are HIV- positive, are diabetic, have chronic kidney disease or have achlorohydria, a condition where the normal acidity of the stomach is low.
"Seventy-two cases of vulnificus infection from raw oysters were reported in Florida from 1981 to 1992, and 36 (50 percent) patients died, making this infection the leading cause of reported deaths from foodborne illness in Florida."
- Read the rest of this short article from the Florida State University, which is based on information from The Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
Mark S. and his wife both had eaten the raw oysters. His wife fared fine, but within hours Mark developed flu-like symptoms. Describing Mark's reaction, his wife stated, "It went from feeling nauseous to not being able to stand up. That's when I called the ambulance."
A well known cliche advises people to avoid raw oysters during the months that do not have an "r" in their name. Those, of course, are the summer months, May through August, when the sea waters are warm and most likely to yield tainted oysters. But the waters of the Gulf of Mexico remain warm into October.
Cooking the oysters would have killed the bacteria.
Mark S. died on his 48th birthday.
"I have three children, and they watched their father die over an oyster," Mark's wife told reporters.
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