LA County health officials are warning people to avoid consuming raw oysters after norovirus outbreaks have sprung up across SoCal.
Sixty-nine oyster-related outbreaks have been reported in San Diego, and over 150 cases in LA — all linked to oysters harvested in the Gulf of California in Western Mexico, the Baja Peninsula and Sonora, among other locations.
Dr. Lello Tesema at LA County’s Department of Health says norovirus is very contagious, and restaurants and markets have been advised to “either confiscate the oysters or stop selling them.”
“People who are immunocompromised or older adults, specifically, should be avoiding raw oysters at this time,” Tesema said.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
While cooked oysters are “less risky,” Tesema says they are still a possible source of disease, especially if they come from the aforementioned locations.
Norovirus can even survive steaming, up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The stubborn, food-borne germ has been known to cause high-profile outbreaks on cruise ships every year, which often leave hundreds of passengers restricted to quarters with diarrhea and headaches.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
According to Tesema, other side effects include “nausea, vomiting; for most people, from one to three days — sometimes stomachaches.”
More than 100,000 Americans are hospitalized annually with norovirus and nearly 1,000 die.
Tesema recommends avoiding the consumption of oysters until officials declare the outbreak to be “over.”
