OHA: Harvested mussels on Oregon coast sicken 20

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Did you harvest mussels near Oceanside and Seaside since Saturday? If so, the Oregon Health Authority said to throw them out.

At least 20 people were sickened from an outbreak of paralytic shellfish poisoning after harvesting mussels from Short Beach near Oceanside, Hug Point, and near Seaside, authorities said.

Some of the 20 people have been hospitalized but no deaths have been reported, officials said.

Thursday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Department of Agriculture closed a stretch of Oregon Coast to mussel harvesting from Seal Rock State Park north to Cape Lookout due to high levels of PSP. On Sunday, the mussel harvest closure was extended from Seal Rock State Park north to the Washington border, officials said.

The warning to throw out the harvested mussels does not pertain to commercial harvesters or bought in a grocery store or restaurant.

“We have two messages: If you have any mussels gathered since Saturday from beaches within the area of coastline that ODFW and ODA closed to harvesting – that you are preparing for a meal or keeping in the freezer for a later time – throw them out now and do not feed them to pets,” Emilio DeBess, epidemiologist at the Oregon Public Health Division’s Acute and Communicable Disease Prevention Section, said in a statement. “And if you have eaten any of these mussels and are feeling ill, see a doctor right away.”

Authorities said PSP can be deadly, especially in kids. Treatment is “symptomatic and supportive. Severe cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning might require mechanical ventilation.”

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