RecentVibriocases not linked to CT shellfish, CT Dept. of Agriculture says
Aug. 3—But the warning may have been somewhat misleading, said Tessa Getchis, an aquaculture extension specialist with the Connecticut Sea Grant and UConn Extension Program. The patient did not eat shellfish harvested from Connecticut waters, she said.
"We don't have shellfish that are contaminated in Connecticut with this particular bacteria," she said.
According to the Connecticut Department of Health's website, Vibrio vulnificus can cause infections from consumption of raw or undercooked seafood, or through wound contact with seawater or raw or undercooked seafood. There have been no been no Vibro vulnificus outbreaks in Connecticut associated with seafood consumption to date, the site notes, but the bacteria "naturally occurs in Long Island Sound, and can cause wound infections that can lead to limb amputation and sepsis in severe cases."
The July 28 Connecticut Department of Health news release did not disclose where the patient consumed raw oysters, or where the oysters were harvested. The release also did not specify if the deceased patient had eaten oysters or had reported exposure to the water.
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Aquaculture issued a statement Wednesday, saying the department routinely monitors oyster harvest areas statewide for vibrio levels during the summer months. Samples are screened for levels of total Vibrio bacteria and then Vibrio vulnificus and pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus levels.
In response to the Department of Health's advisory issued on July 28, the Bureau of Aquaculture tested commercial oysters statewide, and did not detect Vibrio vulnificus in any samples, according to an Aug. 3 posting on its website. The bureau's laboratory will have updated results on Friday of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from harvest areas statewide, according to the Department of Agriculture.
"Vibrio vulnificus is a rare infection with potential serious outcomes — especially for those who consume contaminated shellfish or for those that have an open wound that is exposed to the bacteria," said Christopher Boyle, director of communications for the Connecticut Department of Health, in an email Thursday.
"Given the reporting of multiple infections in a short period of time, the Connecticut Department of Public Health wanted to raise awareness and share prevention measures with the public," Boyle wrote. "DPH supports the Connecticut Dept. of Agriculture and Bureau of Aquaculture's efforts to ensure the safety of Connecticut shellfish. Per the Department of Agriculture, no Connecticut shellfish have ever been associated with Vibrio vulnificus illnesses. As reported on July 25, one person diagnosed with Vibrio vulnificus said they ate raw oysters from an out-of-state establishment."
Vibrio vulnificus is not typically associated with contaminated shellfish in Long Island Sound, Getchis said, and is more likely to be found in warmer waters, like in the Gulf of Mexico.
"The towns and the state work together to collect samples at hundreds of stations across Long Island Sound so they are continuously monitoring the water quality," she said. "They also have to do shoreline surveys along the entire coast to identify potential pollution sources. They sample in good weather conditions, as well as after rainfall, because runoff can be a problem and introduce pathogens. So they are continuously sampling to make sure that the shellfish that arrived on your plate are safe to eat."
A 54-year-old Missouri man died in June after eating raw oysters contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus from a seafood stand near St. Louis. But after the man's death was reported, Bob Rheault, executive director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association, told CBS News that Vibrio vulnificus is rare in the northeast.
"This is a species of bacteria that would prefer to be in low salinity waters," said Rheault. "This bacteria really loves warm water. It's happy at 95 degrees."
Since 2013, Connecticut shellfish growing areas are annually managed with Vibrio control plans when water temperatures exceed 68 degrees, according to the Bureau of Aquaculture's website. In high-risk areas, harvested oysters are immediately placed in an ice slurry, which drops the internal temperature to lower than 50 degrees within three hours of harvest. However, this process typically takes less than 20 minutes.
In lower risk areas, harvesters are required to refrigerate or ice all oysters within five hours of harvest. Under this control plan, oysters must reach a temperature of lower than 50 degrees within five hours of refrigeration or icing, according to the Bureau of Aquaculture. Most harvesters choose to rapidly cool oysters statewide, and all harvesters are required to shade oysters while on their vessels.
"There are very strict controls to prevent and minimize any adverse health effects," Getchis said. "There is enforcement of (those) rules. The state tracks all of the boats and where they're harvesting from; there are conservation officers out in the water that monitor the activity. So it is a highly regulated industry, and for that reason, to protect human health."
Norman Bloom, the founder of Copps Island Oysters by Norm Bloom and Son in Norwalk, said his team is meticulous about having enough ice on hand to quickly and properly cool the shellfish they catch, and they monitor the bivalves with temperature probes.
"The whole thing stays refrigerated right from the time of harvest," he said. "I think it's good, because it actually makes a better summer oyster."
Bloom said he thinks the state of Connecticut does a "great job" to secure the safety of raw shellfish products.
"The programs have a lot of safeguards built into them, which is important to make the product good," he said. We put a lot of bags (of shellfish) out every day. We take it really seriously."
Fairfield County restaurateur Matt Storch, who has a long-standing relationship with Copps Island Oysters, said Tuesday he isn't worried about the recent Vibrio cases, in regards to seafood consumption. In addition to serving the oysters at his restaurants Match in South Norwalk and Match Burger Lobster in Westport, he's also a partner in the Copps Island Oyster Shack food truck in Stratford, which offers raw oysters and clams on the half shell.
"As long as the normal [Department of Health] procedures are followed, there is zero concern," he said. "All past cases in Connecticut are related to open wounds and out-of-state restaurants with out-of-state shellfish."
Harvesters are required to keep detailed records in a harvest log book that records the date, start time of harvest, time to dock, the amount harvested and time sold or time refrigerated. At the same time, restaurants must also keep the tags from shellfish orders for 90 days, in order to have traceable records in the case of any outbreak.
Hunter Morton, partner and culinary director of Max Hospitality Group, said staffers keep a log of raw shellfish consumed at the Max restaurants that serve raw bar items, including Max's Oyster Bar in West Hartford and Max Fish in Glastonbury. If an issue happened, the health department could trace when the shellfish was served, where it came from and when it was harvested, he said.
National shellfish sanitation rules apply across the country, in collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, state agencies and growers across the country, Getchis said, but states can also go above and beyond to implement more stringent safety measures.
"It is a real collaboration to protect human health, and the same checks and balances apply in every state as well," she said.
Dan Meiser, founder and CEO of 85th Day Food Community in Mystic, echoed that Connecticut has "very specific and strict guidelines" managing the harvesting, transportation and storage of shellfish.
At Oyster Club, 85th Day's Mystic restaurant with an emphasis on local seafood, Meiser said he and his team only buy oysters direct from farmers they know and have worked with for years. This includes farmers in Rhode Island and New York, he said.
"Our out-of-state farmers adhere to the highest levels of safety and care, so I do not have any concerns about the farms we work with," he said.
David Standridge, the executive chef at The Shipwright's Daughter in Mystic, also said he doesn't have concerns because of the infrastructure in place. Like Meiser, he prefers to buy oysters directly from his preferred farms in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and he said he and his staff are diligent about keeping the shellfish stored in ice when they're at the restaurant.
"We have to have a little bit of faith in the harvesters that they're doing a good job," he said. "And as long as we do our part when we're here, we don't have to really think about it too much."
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