Article Author:
Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A restaurant customer in Fort Lauderdale died of a bacterial infection after eating raw oysters. A Pensacola man died similarly this month. Both cases involved oysters from Louisiana.
Gary Oreal, who runs the Rustic Inn, told the South Florida SunSentinel that the deceased man had garlic years ago working at a restaurant famous for his club.
"For over 60 years, we have served billions of oysters, and no one has gotten sick like this man," Oreal said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vibrio doesn't look, smell or taste like oysters. According to the agency, vibriosis affects about 80,000 people in the United States each year and causes about 100 deaths.
Inspectors from the Florida Department of Health checked the restaurant's kitchen and stocked oysters the day after the man became ill, Oreal told the newspaper.
"It passed with flying colors and we were allowed to continue selling oysters," he said, adding that the oysters currently being served are from Louisiana. "If there was a problem with the oyster bed, we would know because other people got sick."
"Oysters are the top of the pile of dangerous foods to eat," Oreal said. "I have eaten all my life and will continue to do so. But when I do it, I put myself in danger."
26 people were infected with the bacteria, six of whom died after eating raw shellfish such as oysters. In 2021 he had 10 deaths in his 34 cases. In 2020, 7 out of 36 people who got sick died.
A Pensacola man died last week after contracting a bacteria from oysters he bought at the market, the Pensacola News Journal reported. Sources said the oysters were also from Louisiana.
Bacterial-related infections are common in oysters and raw seafood during the summer months when water temperatures are warm, University of West Florida professor Robert "Wes" Farr told the newspaper.
"Severe infections are rare, but the risk still exists," Farr said.
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