California health officials are warning consumers not to eat raw oysters from an area of British Columbia after linking more than 272 cases of norovirus to sales of the shellfish by restaurants and supermarkets.
About 100 of the victims consumed the oysters in California, and the rest were exposed in Canada, according to the alert from the California Department of Public Health. The oysters under suspicion were all sourced from south and central Baynes Sound.
Four oyster farms in those locations have been closed, the agency said.
The CDPH noted that the oysters were served by restaurants throughout California. It did not mention other states where the shellfish may have been on menus.
The outbreak follows a widespread E.coli contamination that has been tied to romaine lettuce supplied to restaurants and grocery stores from Yuma, Arizona. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture continue to monitor the situation. About 121 people in 25 states have been sickened by the produce, according to an update released last week by the CDC. Forty-six have been hospitalized, 10 of them with kidney failure, and one person has died. At least two victims have filed lawsuits.
The symptoms of norovirus are typically less severe than E.coli poisoning. The viral infection can induce vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps and nausea, typically for a one to three-day stretch.
Norovirus in food can be killed by cooking at temperatures of at least 145 degrees.
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