Flesh-eating bacteria in raw oysters kill Florida man, health officials say

Fox News ^

[BenLurkin]

The 71-year-old man ate the oysters on July 8 at a Sarasota restaurant, which health officials did not identify, and died two days later. "We have an individual that consumed some raw oysters and to the best of our knowledge had no exposure to salt water, became severely ill, and passed away," said Michael Drennon, Disease Intervention Services Program Manager at the Sarasota County Health Dept.

"We tell everybody regardless of age or immune status that they should avoid eating raw or undercooked shell fish or seafood or avoid or being in the salt water when they have an open wound or lesion on their body," Drennon said. 

[Telepathic Intruder]

I guess that’s it for me and raw oysters.

[Paladin2]

Sounds like the problem is salt water...

[posterchild]

Vibrio?

[omegatoo]

No raw oysters in months without an “r”.

Just sayin’

Love,
O2

[LonePalm]

There is a reason for the old saw about eating oysters ONLY during months with an 'r' in the name.

It is also why you put Tabasco on them. (Well, they taste better with Tabasco anyway.)

I hope for their sake the restaurant can produce the oyster tags showing source.

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[familyop]

That’s interesting. In the past, for those of us living near the ocean, salt water was an observable protection against infections.

[Karl Spooner]

Do the restaurants make the customers sign a wavier form? Hard to believe they would take the liability risk otherwise.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Yep.

[boycott]

Salt water is usually fine. The problem is usually standing salt water on the land near the ocean. It’s an area where bacteria can thrive. I’ve known people to get very ill from it.

[boycott]

The months with an “r” are the cooler months. Refrigeration has change over the last 100 years so it’s safer than it used to be.

That said, I love raw oysters but don’t eat them anymore. I prefer them char-grilled.

[Slyfox]

I like my oysters fried and served with a side of hush puppies and fried okra.

[Road Warrior ‘04]

Don’t eat oysters in months without an ‘r’ in it! It’s true!

[familyop]

"The problem is usually standing salt water on the land near the ocean."

Oh, I see. Thanks.

On getting small cuts around salt water, we only thought of the water in the ocean surf as helping against infection and didn't regard the stinky, inland flats as being the same. ;-)

My experience was a long time ago. It does seem that the good oyster beds according to the map were in areas with better daily tidal water exchange with a large bay or the Gulf. Anyone wanting to pick up oysters must get a map for locating good oyster beds first. Don't forget the tough, leather gloves and to avoid pulling too hard when lifting (razor sharp, some of those shells).

[UCANSEE2]

In the past, for those of us living near the ocean, salt water was an observable protection against infections.

Even polluted lake water is very good about cleaning up wounds. Mostly due to the microorganisms in the water that love to eat bacteria. The wounds would also heal leaving no discernible marks.

[hinckley buzzard]

Ancient rule of thumb: Only eat oysters in months with an R in their name.

[DesScorp]

Raw seafood of any kind is a really dangerous game of Russian Roulette. Raw Seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is a death wish if you are immune compromised. Vibrio Vulnificus don’t play around.

[DesScorp]

“That’s interesting. In the past, for those of us living near the ocean, salt water was an observable protection against infections.”

That was before we had a better understanding of bacteria. Vibrio Vulnificus wasn’t even discovered and isolated until 1976, and it was largely because of improved lab equipment technologies that we started discovering that bad bugs could thrive in salt water. When my dad was in Vietnam, Army doctors told them to go swim in the surf when they got R&R time at the beach. Just as you said, they thought it would heal wounds. Now they know just how dangerous natural bodies of water are to open wounds.

[familyop]

Thank you. And yes, my time near the ocean was mostly during the ‘60s and before 1976.

[DesScorp]

"Even polluted lake water is very good about cleaning up wounds."

With respect, that's no longer understood to be the case . This poor girl got a different strain of so-called flesh eating bacteria in an inland freshwater source. All wild bodies of water have dangerous organisms to open wounds and compromised immune systems. Normal, healthy people without open wounds are usually fine, but occasionally even healthy people catch this stuff in beaches and rivers and lakes.

Teen contracts flesh-eating bacteria after going canoeing