THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997 TAG: 9701260114
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 25 lines
A bad batch of Louisiana oysters is being blamed for the illnesses of five people who dined on raw oysters at a Virginia Beach party last month.
Officials with the Virginia Department of Health confirmed the link with Louisiana on Friday after the department used shipping records to track the oysters back to the Gulf of Mexico.
The five partygoers became ill and suffered from diarrhea between 4 and 28 hours after the Dec. 29 party, according to Dr. John Rullan, deputy director of the Virginia health department's office of epidemiology.
Rullan said the oysters probably carried a virus known as Norwalk disease, which can occur when shellfish come into contact with sewage.
Louisiana officials learned Dec. 31 that oysters from their state were causing gastrointestinal problems. The state closed oyster grounds suspected of being contaminated Jan. 3 and issued a recall of tainted shellfish Jan. 6.
Oysters from the closed grounds had been shipped to Virginia and 10 other states. At least 21 people in Florida, Alabama and Louisiana also became ill.