Consumers Warned Against Eating Shellfish From Oyster Bay Harbor in Nassau County, New York

Federal and state health officials are warning consumers not to eat raw or partially cooked oysters and clams with tags listing New York’s Oyster Bay Harbor as the harvesting area. This follows reports in several states of a cholera-like illness caused by a bacterium called Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Bay constables on routine patrol in Oyster Bay Harbor, NY. Photo courtesy of Word News Inc.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the bacterium “is in the same family as those that cause cholera. It lives in brackish saltwater and causes gastrointestinal illness in humans.” Vibrio naturally inhabits coastal waters in the U.S. and Canada and is present in higher concentrations during the summer.

Vibrio can causes symptoms including watery diarrhea often with abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, and chills. Usually these symptoms can begin anywhere from a few hours to as many as five days after eating raw or undercooked shellfish, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The CDC says that in most people the illness is “self-limiting” and only last about three days, adding that severe disease is rare and occurs mostly commonly in people with weakened immune systems.

The FDA issued a notice to all distributors that, “All shellfish harvesters, shippers, re-shippers, processors, restaurants, and retail food establishments are advised to check the identity tags on all containers of shellfish in their inventories. If the tags indicate the harvest area was Oyster Bay Harbor and a harvest date on or after June 1, 2012, the product should be disposed of and not sold or served.”

The FDA also issued a notice specifically directed toward consumers, and with a stronger recommendation for illness than the CDC’s recommendation. The FDA said that:

Consumers possessing shellfish with tags listing Oyster Bay Harbor as the harvest area and a harvest date on or after June 1, 2012, should dispose of and not eat the shellfish. Consumers possessing shellfish for which the harvest area is not known should inquire of the retailer, restaurant, or other facility about the source of the shellfish.

If the shellfish was already consumed and no one became ill, no action is needed. However, if you develop a diarrheal illness within a week after consuming raw or undercooked shellfish, see your healthcare provider and inform the provider about this exposure.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) closed Oyster Bay Harbor on July 13, 2012 to shellfish harvesting.

Prior to the closing, the DEC said that shellfish from the harbor were also distributed to “several other states, including, but not necessarily limited to Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.

There is some promising news to report. The DEC collected some hard clam and oyster samples from the harbor on July 16, 2012 and July 30, 2012 for testing by the FDA laboratory, and the findings were somewhat optimistic.

The results of the testing showed that the bacterium “was not present in hard clams at levels that are hazardous to human health,” said the DEC, adding that, “The FDA has recommended additional testing of oysters to be conducted over the next two weeks before the area can be reopened for harvesting.”

Based on these findings, the DEC has decided to partially rescind the closure order – starting tomorrow, August 4, 2012. The harvesting of shellfish other than oysters will be permitted from the normally certified areas of the harbor.

The harvest of oysters will continue to be prohibited – until further notice – in all normally certified shellfish lands in the harbor “lying westerly of a line extending southerly from the stone house at Plum Point (Centre Island) to the northwestern most point of Cove Point on Cove Neck.

For the most up-to-date information about DEC’s temporary emergency closures, please call the hotline at 631-444-0480. For any other questions, please call the main shellfish office at 631-444-0475 during normal business hours, Monday to Friday  8:30 am until 4:45 pm (EST).

Additional Resource

• Fresh and Frozen Seafood: Selecting and Serving it Safely

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