In warm weather, oysters come with risk

The elegance of raw oysters on the half shell remains a treat for many diners. Celebrating an anniversary? Splurge on oysters. Looking for a romantic food? Slurp on oysters.

But this is the season to remind friends, family and visitors that the warm Gulf waters can make some oysters dangerous and even deadly.

A Sarasota man died from a bacterial infection two days after eating a bad oyster at a restaurant last week. Vibrio vulnificus is a rare, but nasty infection, and so far this year, three Floridians have died from it. Sixteen have been sickened. In 2017, 49 were sickened and 11 died.

The naturally occurring bacteria thrives in warm brackish seawater, making the harvest from Gulf Coast oyster beds particularly risky from April through October.

Restaurant menus or signs often warn vulnerable populations to avoid raw seafood, but the type is often tiny and over time, easy to ignore. Those particularly vulnerable include individuals with weakened immune systems, including chronic liver disease or past bouts of hepatitis.

Symptoms of illness come on fast and may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain or fever. The bacteria can invade the bloodstream, causing a severe and life-threatening illness. Prompt treatment is important.

The risk is not just with eating oysters or clams. Those with open wounds should avoid swimming in warm Gulf waters. It is the same bacteria that makes headlines when swimmers or fishermen become infected through a cut or open wound, a growing problem in Florida.

As this newspaper revealed in an investigative series two years ago, vibrio vulnificus can cause mild symptoms in healthy people but quickly become life-threatening in those with underlying conditions such as liver disease, diabetes, cancer or AIDS. Millions of Americans have conditions that put them at risk, and many may not even know it.

Consuming two to three drinks a day can cause liver damage years before actual disease symptoms develop. And many Americans, especially those who are overweight, may have undiagnosed diabetes.

For those compromised individuals who do contract the bacteria and live, the consequences can be severe, including amputations and lifelong pain. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say 15 percent to 30 percent of infections are fatal.

It’s impossible to tell if an oyster is bad by looking at it. An oyster that contains harmful bacteria doesn’t look, smell or even taste different from any other oyster.

And don’t believe the legends that hot sauce or lemon juice will kill Vibrio bacteria. It won’t. Neither does drinking alcohol while eating oysters kill the bacteria. Cooking oysters properly will kill harmful bacteria. But for many bivalve partisans, cooking kills the pleasure.

There are some safety alternatives, but unfortunately, Florida lawmakers haven’t been willing to put tough safety measures into effect.

Some concerned oyster processors in the 1990s began developing technology that kills the bacteria through quick freezing, high pressure and other methods. But the industry balked.

In 2003, California began requiring such treatment of Gulf oysters in the warmest months, and deaths dropped from 40 in one decade to just one.

Citing California's results, the FDA announced in 2009 that raw Gulf oysters nationwide would be subjected to treatment in the warmest months.

“Seldom is the evidence on a food safety problem and solution so unambiguous,” Michael Taylor, then senior adviser to the FDA commissioner, said at the time. “We no longer believe that measures which reduce the hazard, but fall well short of eliminating it ... are sufficient.”

But the proposal was immediately resisted by the oyster industry.

Instead, they favored stricter refrigeration requirements as sufficient to reduce the problem. Those requirements went into effect in 2010, and oyster-related illnesses declined about 40 percent from 2012 to 2013 and remained lower in 2014, according to the most recent figures available.

Eliminating the risk completely, many industry representatives say, is not realistic or necessary. They say at-risk consumers ought to know not to eat oysters raw, and they should be responsible for their health, not the government or the industry.

So consider yourself warned. Ask if the warm weather oysters have been treated. For us, the winter months look a lot more enticing for slurping oysters than the summer. And be kind to your guests by asking about health issues before agreeing to share a dozen oysters.

A few more reminders will possibly spare someone a devastating outcome.

Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O'Hara, Andy Reid and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.