California officials warn people to not eat raw oysters from Mexico which may be linked to norovirus
LOS ANGELES — Health officials in Southern California are warning people to avoid eating raw oysters from parts of Mexico after more than 200 people recently fell ill with suspected cases of norovirus.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has reported more than 150 suspected cases of gastrointestinal illness linked to raw oysters, while in San Diego County health officials said Thursday they had 69 confirmed and probable cases. Other cases were reported in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an initial advisory on January 11 on oysters from a site in the Mexican state of Sonora, located along the Gulf of California. That was based, at least in part, on the findings of a survey conducted by San Diego County health officials.
On Wednesday, the FDA issued another advisory for oysters from Laguna De Guerrero Negro and Laguna Manuela, both on the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico. That same day, the agency also updated its original Sonora advisory to include a second harvest location, Estero Morua.
The California Department of Public Health warned consumers that raw oysters harvested at these locations may be contaminated with norovirus, which can cause diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain. Other symptoms include fever, headache and body aches, according to the FDA.
Health officials are recommending that restaurants discard imported oysters from locations in Mexico until further notice “given the growing number of harvest locations associated with disease and the potential for other locations to be involved,” San Diego County said in a statement.
The norovirus cases involved both restaurant patrons and consumers who bought oysters in stores and ate them at home.
People are advised to ask where oysters come from before consuming them and to wash hands and surfaces that may have come into contact with contaminated oysters.
All affected oysters were harvested in December and none have been distributed from those locations to food sites in San Diego since then, the county statement said.