I like them to but here is a news flash:


NEWS RELEASE


Alabama Department of Public Health investigates outbreak of hepatitis A


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: J.P. Lofgren, M.D.
(334) 206-5971

The Alabama Department of Public Health is investigating an outbreak of hepatitis A. Since the beginning of September, 13 cases have been reported from scattered areas of the state.

The investigation is still in progress. However, it appears that most of these patients may have contracted the disease after eating raw oysters. Of the 11 patients who have been interviewed, 10 have eaten raw oysters in the period two to six weeks before getting sick. Most had eaten the raw oysters about a month before becoming ill.

"Even if these cases of hepatitis A were infected by eating raw oysters, this outbreak was not caused by Hurricane Katrina," said Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer. "All of the persons had eaten the raw oysters before Katrina hit the coast." In fact, most of the individuals ate the raw oysters about two weeks before Katrina.

Preliminary information indicates that the 13 cases are scattered throughout the state as follows: 7 from the Tuscaloosa area, 2 from the Birmingham area, 2 from the Montgomery area, 1 in Washington County and 1 from Dallas County. At least five eating establishments may have been the source of contaminated oysters. Traceback activities will attempt to determine where the oysters were harvested.

The continuing investigation includes interviewing patients reported with hepatitis A, determining the dates and eating establishments where raw oysters were consumed or purchased, tracing back to find the source of the oysters, and collecting blood samples from patients that can be tested to see if all the patients were infected from the source. In addition, the close contacts of patients, especially those living in the same household, are given immune globulin to prevent hepatitis A.

Hepatitis A is a virus that affects the liver. It causes an illness that results in the patient turning yellow (jaundiced) because the liver is not working well. Other symptoms include fever, lack of energy and lack of appetite. Illness can last several weeks, but virtually every patient recovers.

Only humans can get infected with hepatitis A. The virus is in the patient's stool and is spread to others when infectious stool gets into someone else's mouth. For example, the virus can be transmitted from contaminated food and water or directly, as among children in child care centers. After ingesting the hepatitis A virus, it takes two to six weeks before the person becomes ill.

There have been 19 cases of hepatitis A reported in Alabama from January through August of this year. Last year there were 10 cases. In 2003 there were 24 cases. Among these cases, only one patient gave a history of eating raw shellfish in the two to six weeks before becoming ill.

-30-
9/13/05

I can only speculate that the oyster beds in the gulf are going to be ruined for years to come with all of the toxic water being pumped out of N.O. right now. That water has a combination of fuel and oil from the submerged vehicles, raw sewage, decomposed animals and bodies, and a sundry of chemicals that I cant even begin to name. That will be a shame because I really like gulf oysters. I imagine the crawfish will be in peril also.



Dave

Yep, its pretty sad. You gotta remeber Oysters (shellfish in general) are filter feeders and everything in that water passes right through them. I would never eat a Oyster raw anyways, not today. Too much sewage and such being dumped in the water, if I eat they have to be cooked.

Hepatitis is no joke.

There are excellent vaccines now. For the easy to catch from contaminated food and drink type "A" hepatitis.
I got a vaccine and the year after "child sized" booster. Supposed to be very effective for 20 years.



There are vaccines for the type "B" and combination type "A & B" together. "B" type involves injection drug taking or unprotected sex if I am not mistaken.

I loved raw oysters when we lived up in Virgina...we'd ride over to Maryland and sit on Chesapeake Bay and suck down fresh raw oysters, blue crabs, and beer. Heaven.

Down here, the oysters are just not the same....pretty good, but not as tasty a those from Chesapeake Bay. However, the shrimp and other seafood more than make up for it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rbihari,

The oysters I eat usually come from Caraquet or Malpeque. That`s Prince Edward Isalnd and New Brunswick.

I like them on the half shell, cold and with a bit of lemon juice, vinegar mixed with shallots or newburg sauce.

like they know where PEI and New Brunswick are! HA.

Last weekend i went up to hornby island (a small gulf island off of Vancover Island) and the cabin we were staying at overlooked a huge oyster farm. Man those things are stinky!!! Totaly cool though, in the morning you could see all the oyster nets and by about 1 PM they were all covered up by the tide.

There's an old saying about never eating oysters in months that do not contain the letter R, in other words, the summer...they are more likey to go bad. My dad, a big oyster aficianado, lives by this rule hard and fast.

Huge oyster fan here, always raw with a beer of champagne. but i gott agree with stogie here...with the state of our oceans, eating raw shelfish will definitely be banned in our lifetime.

Sad sorry, a gentleman in our office passed away a couple years ago from bacteria in a raw oyster, which was served at one of those high class aged prime beef joints, a chain everyone knows. the tough part is determining if the oyster has the bacteria in the ocean or after it hit the shore.

I also agree with the no eating raw oysters in summer, although i do, i make sure i only go to the 2-3 high end restaurants that specialize in raw oysters and use the proper packaging with over night delivery...still a risk but they are too good not to have.....If anyone is in Boston, hit up B&G Oysters. basically a high class version of a summer seafood shack... pricey but well worth it.

We don't know where PEI is??? Aaaaah, but not all of your neighbors are created equal

My mother's family was from Nova Scotia.

It's a crime what has happened to so much good shellfish and other sea life. Longliners, polluters, they all suck.

quote:

Originally posted by andymiami:
We don't know where PEI is??? Aaaaah, but not all of your neighbors are created equal

My mother's family was from Nova Scotia.

It's a crime what has happened to so much good shellfish and other sea life. Longliners, polluters, they all suck.

Prince Edward Island

I learned to love oyster shooters when I lived in San Diego for a couple of years a while ago. Plunk a shelled raw oyster in a small glass with a shot (okay, maybe a jigger) of pepper vodka ... add a few drops of lime juice, a dash or two of red or green pepper sauce (your choice), maybe a small dollop of salsa and a couple of springs of cilantro and toss it back. Some like a bit of horseradish, some like a little cocktail sauce, but I think it's better without it.

Our local Wellfleets and Cotuits are delicious, and it's pretty easy to find PEI Malpeques in New England, too. When I visit my family on Florida's Gulf Coast, I crave the Apalachicolas they serve at Molly Goodhead's on Ozona Beach. When I can find them, the small west coast Kumamotos are among my favorites, full of flavors like the ocean. But the oyster of oysters, in my opinion, is the French Belon ....expensive and hard-to-find, but taste wonderfully sweet and briny, like the sea.

Sadly, it'll be a while before we'll see Lousiana Bretons again.

Having recently relocated from "the panhandle", I already miss Appalachacola oysters.

Living along the Gulf Coast, I have plenty of opportunities to eat raw oysters. However, I know of several people who became ill from contaminated oysters and their experience has convinced me that cooked oysters best. It is not worth the risk. IMHO

I dunno. Gulf coast oysters. Chesapeake bay oysters. I dunno.
A hell of a lot of flushed toilets and agricultural run off into those coastal regions.

If the oysters could pack up and leave, they would.

Actually, you are correct that agricultural run off is the problem.

I don't think our oysters are looking to relocate.

quote:

Originally posted by nordaP:
Actually, you are correct that agricultural run off is the problem.

I don't think our oysters are looking to relocate.

Agricultural, sewer, and all the chemical plants.

The chemical industry pays for my cigars, so you won't hear me say anything bad about them. But your point is not without merit.

Human sewage from failed/no septic tanks, and sewer systems that have failed are a big problem. I dont think that in this case it is from Agriculture run off or chemical plants. However Agriculture runn off is becomming a big problem due to "high volume" animal farms and companies like Tyson that use our latist antibiotics in their feed as a preventive measure instead of when the animals get sick and other chemicals added to their feed. Now we have strains of salmonella that are multi drug resistant. The Clean air and clean water acts that the federal government created in the 1970's and 1980's hit chemical and other large businesses hard and forced them to clean up their plants. EPA and state Environmental agencies have done a good job enforcing this. Its still got a long way to go but we have come a long way. However they have done very little to force farmers to clean up their act. EPA and at least Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) are starting to force farmers especialy these "high volume" animal farms to clean up their operations or face heavy fines and shut downs.

I love raw oysters -- considering I have had both Hep A and C I really should be more careful