Definitions | Acronyms | Frequently Asked Questions | Facts & Stats

Definitions

Abdominal cramps – involuntary contraction of the muscles in the stomach area causing pain and severe discomfort.

Adulterated foods - Under the FFDCA, these are foods containing poisonous or deleterious substances that may be harmful to the health.

Abstaining – in the act of deliberately and often with an effort of self-denial from an action or practice

Anatomic - structural makeup especially of an organism or any of its parts

Asymptomatic - presenting no symptoms of disease

Cellulitis - Cellulitis is an infection of the deep subcutaneous tissue of the skin caused by exogenous bacteria and occurs in cracks of the skin, cuts, blisters, burns, insect bites and surgical wounds.

Cholera - Sometimes known as Asiatic or epidemic cholera. It is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacteria. Transmission occurs through the ingestion of contaminated food or water.

Chronic - marked by long duration or frequent recurrence : not acute

Cirrhosis - Widespread disruption of normal liver structure by fibrosis and the formation of regenerative nodules that is caused by any of various chronic progressive conditions affecting the liver (as long-term alcohol abuse or hepatitis)

Contaminant – that which has the ability to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association

Contaminated - to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association

Etiological – pertaining to the cause or origin of the disease

Facultative Anaerobes - are organisms, usually bacteria that makes use of aerobic respiration if to create ATP if oxygen is, but they are also capable of switching to fermentation

Fishermen’s Disease - Layman’s term for infection caused by the Vibrio Vulnificus bacteria.

Food borne – transported or carried through food (bacteria or diseases)

Gastroenteritis - The inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Inflammation involves the stomach and the small intestine, and causes acute diarrhea.

Genus - is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms.

Gram-negative - not holding the purple dye when stained by Gram's stain —used chiefly of bacteria

Halophile – “salt – loving”. Halophiles thrive in environments with very high concentrations of salt.

Halophytic - an organism that flourishes in a salty environment

Hemochromatosis - Hemochromatosis is a hereditary disease characterized by excessive absorption of dietary iron resulting in a pathologic increase in total body iron stores.

Human Pathogen – A pathogen is a species or agent that is infectious and causes disease and illness to its host, which are human beings, in the case of human pathogens.

Immino-compromised – Having the immune system impaired or weakened (by drugs or illness)

Mollusks - any of a large phylum (Mollusca) of invertebrate animals (as snails, clams, or squids) with a soft unsegmented body usually enclosed in a calcareous shell

Morbidity - the relative incidence of disease

Mortality - the number of deaths in a given time or place

Mycotic - infection with or disease caused by a fungus

Necrotizing fasciitis – Also commonly known as “flesh-eating disease" or “flesh-eating bacteria". It is a rare infection of the deeper layers of skin and subcutaneous tissues, easily spreading across the fascial plane within the subcutaneous tissue. With progression of the disease, tissue becomes swollen, often within hours. Diarrhea and vomiting are common symptoms as well. Mortality rates have been noted as high as 73 percent.

Noxious - physically harmful or destructive to living beings

Outbreak - a sudden rise in the incidence of a disease

Pasteurization - partial sterilization of a substance and especially a liquid (as milk) at a temperature and for a period of exposure that destroys objectionable organisms without major chemical alteration of the substance

Pathogen - a specific causative agent (as a bacterium or virus) of disease

Post-mortem - done, occurring, or collected after death <postmortem tissue specimens>

Primary septicemia – A serious and fatal disorder also known as blood poisoning caused by the invasion of the bloodstream by bacteria.

Proposal 07-202 – Established by the ISSC, regulating the harvesting and selling of oysters during the warm summer months.

Salinity – level of salt content in water

Seaboard - the country bordering a seacoast

Sepsis – Also called systemic inflammatory response Characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state (called a systemic inflammatory response syndrome or SIRS) caused by infection. The body may develop this inflammatory response to microbes or their toxins in the blood or tissues. The related layman's term is blood poisoning.

Septicemia - invasion of the bloodstream by virulent microorganisms and especially bacteria along with their toxins from a local seat of infection accompanied especially by chills, fever, and prostration

Septic shock – A serious medical condition caused by decreased oxygen delivery and tissue perfusion caused by sepsis and infection. If untreated, it can cause multiple organ failure and is fatal.

Shucked oysters – oysters taken out of its shell

Species - species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.

Sporadic - occurring occasionally, singly, or in irregular or random instances

Susceptible - open, subject, or unresistant to some stimulus, influence, or agency

Tenesmus - a distressing but ineffectual urge to evacuate the rectum or bladder.

Underlying - evident only on close inspection

Vibrio Bacteria – Gram negative bacteria Gram-negative bacteria that possesses a curved rod shape. Most Vibrio species are halophilic and are usually found in saltwater.

Vibrio vulnificus - Vibrio vulnificus is a bacterium that naturally occurs in warm salt waters where some molluscan shellfish are harvested.

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Acronyms

APA - Administrative Procedure Act

CDC – Center for Disease Control

CFP – Conference for Food Protection

CFSAN - Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

CSPI – Center for Science in the Public Interest

EPA – Environmental Protection Agency

FDA – Food and Drug Administration

FFDCA – Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The act prohibiting the interstate shipment of unsafe/adulterated foods.

GSAFF - Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation

GOIC - Gulf Oyster Industry Council

HACCP - Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point

HPP - Hydrostatic High Pressure

ICD - International Classification of Disease

IQF - Individual Quick Freezing

ISSC - Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference

MFS – Microbial Food Safety

MMWR – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

NCIMS – National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments

NMFS – National Marine Fisheries Service

NSSP – National Shellfish Sanitation Program

PHP - Post-Harvest Processing

PHSA – Public Health Service Act

SSS - Serving Safer Shellfish (Program)

VBNC – Viable But Not Culturable

VMC - Vibrio Management Committee

VVB – Vibrio Vulnificus Bacteria

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FAQ 's

1. Q: Can I get sick from eating raw oysters?
A: Yes you can.  Vibrio vulnificus septicemia is an infection of the blood caused by ingesting the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria. This bacterium is found in raw oysters, once cooked the bacteria dies and is no longer infectious.  Vibrio vulnificus bacteria is not toxic to everyone. The bacteria may be killed by stomach acids or by the liver or kidneys.  However, many individuals' immune system is not able to kill the bacteria for a multitude of reasons.

2. Q: Is it true that the only way to contract Vibrio vulnificus infections is through eating raw oysters?
A: While its true that you can get Vibrio vulnificus infection from eating raw oysters, there are other ways of getting the infection. Vibrio vulnificus also can infect an open wound that has been exposed to seawater. However, such wound infections are much less likely to be fatal than the bloodstream infections caused by eating tainted raw oysters.

3. Q: I love raw oysters but I’m afraid to get the infection that comes from eating them. Is there a way to make raw oysters safe to eat?
A: Yes there is.  Raw Oysters can be post-harvest processed in order to kill the bacteria and make the raw oysters safe to eat for all individuals.

4. Q: I heard that there are times of the year when consumers are most likely to get sick from eating oysters?
A: It is in the warm summer months when the concentration of the harmful Vibrio vulnificus bacteria is at a dangerous level. Avoid eating raw oysters from April to October.

5. Q: What are the other precautions that I can take to avoid being sick from raw
oysters?
A: Consumers who want to eat raw bivalve shellfish should ask where the shellfish were harvested. Consumers should not eat raw Gulf Coast oysters, clams, or mussels unless they have been post-harvest processed to kill the Vibrio vulnificus bacterium.

6. Q: Is this increase in the incidence of Vibrio vulnificus infection and the number of deaths caused by the bacteria, have any effect on our economy?
A: The economic impact of those deaths and illnesses is enormous. According to FDA estimates, Vibrio vulnificus imposes costs of at least $120 million each year on the U.S. economy, by far the largest economic impact of any food borne pathogen associated with seafood products.

7. Q: Has the government done anything to stop or at least decrease Vibrio vulnificus caused deaths?
A: The government through some of its agencies has conducted information drives to inform people of the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria and its harmful effects. There are also some states, like California, that impose a total ban on harvesting oysters during the warm summer month when infection is most rampant and only post-harvest processed raw oysters can be sold.

8. Q: I heard from someone that the FDA has delegated to another outfit the job of restricting oyster sales during high risk months and the task of making sure that all oysters being sold in food establishment are safe for consumption, is this true?
A: Consumers depend on the federal government to intervene when partisan issues might prevent an appropriate public-health outcome. But instead of intervening, the FDA abandoned the transparent notice-and-comment rulemaking process for setting food-safety standards for shellfish in favor of a program dominated by the shellfish industry-the ISSC.

9. Q: What are the newer processes that can help eliminate the danger of Vibrio vulnificus infection?
A: A Louisiana company has developed a mild-heat pasteurization process that kills harmful bacteria, including Vibrio vulnificus, with little or no effect on the oysters’ taste or texture. Other companies have developed additional methods, such as hydrostatic pressurization and quick-freezing, capable of killing Vibrio vulnificus

10. Q: Why is most of the Gulf Coast shellfish industry continuing to put people’s lives at risk with Vibrio vulnificus contaminated oysters when a broad array of solutions is available?
A: The answer lies in the ineffectual and largely dysfunctional regulatory
framework that the federal government uses to oversee shellfish safety. Shellfish distributors see no immediate sanction in not having their oysters treated. Stricter shellfish safety ordinances and total ban on high-risk months should quickly resolve this problem.

11. Q: Is it true that 99% of oysters harvested from the Gulf Coast may be potentially harmful due to the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria?
A: Yes, although a few shellfish processors have begun to use new oyster treatment technologies, the industry itself concedes that just one percent of raw oysters harvested from the Gulf Coast are being treated. So that leaves us with 99% of untreated oysters being sold in the market.

12. Q: If the Vibrio vulnificus is a natural occurring bacterium how can it be harmful?
A: This bacteria in small amounts is not harmful, but at a certain level it becomes toxic. Although Vibrio vulnificus is a naturally occurring bacterium, its levels increase dramatically after the shellfish are harvested during warmer months, due to conditions on the vessel and during transport. In fact, the bacterium can increase 10- to 100-fold in Gulf Coast shellfish from the time of harvest to retail sale, because of lack of refrigeration or other factors related to human intervention

13. Q: What is considered as “adulterated” food by the FFDCA? Are oysters among them?
A: FFDCA declares a food is "adulterated" when it contains an added "poisonous or deleterious" substance that may make the food harmful to health. Not all oysters are considered “adulterated” only Vibrio vulnificus-contaminated raw molluscan shellfish (oysters).

14. Q: Who is in charge of creating safety guidelines for oyster distribution and consumption?
A: Safety standards purportedly designed to prevent contamination of shellfish with pathogens such as Vibrio vulnificus are established by the ISSC and set forth in the Shellfish Model Ordinance.

15. Q: Is it true that all oysters contain Vibrio vulnificus?
A: Yes, Vibrio vulnificus is a naturally occurring bacterium.

16. Q: What is proposal 07-202, I heard that it’s supposed to make oysters safe for eating even in the warm summer months?
A: This is a safety proposal adopted by ISSC, it states that in order for oysters to continue to be sold in interstate commerce, anytime water temperatures rise above 81 degrees Fahrenheit, oysters for the half-shell market must be refrigerated within five hours after harvest. If oysters are not refrigerated within five hours after harvest, then they must be tagged, "For Cooking or Post-harvest Processing Only."

17. Q: My brother said if I drink alcohol with the raw oysters that should make the oyster safe because the alcohol will kill the bacteria. Is this true?
A: No, research showed that Vibrio vulnificus couldn’t be killed by alcohol. Cooking is still the best and sure-fire way to kill the bacteria.

18. Q: I have type two diabetes, I think I’m part of the high risk group for Vibrio vulnificus infection, should I stop eating all types of shellfish just to be sure?
A: Your having diabetes shouldn’t keep you from enjoying food that you like. Just exercise extra precaution such as only consuming post-harvest processed raw oysters or oysters that have been cooked.

19. Q: Vibrio vulnificus infection sounds rather fatal, can it be treated?
A: Yes, antibiotics can treat Vibrio vulnificus infection, however greater than 50% of those individuals who consume raw oysters and and become sick from vibrio are fatal. 

20. Q: Will a person who survived a Vibrio vulnificus infection experience any long-term aftereffects?
A: Apart from those who had to undergo amputation or disfigurement, there are no long-term after effects recorded from people who had the infection.

21. Q: Is there way for me to tell oyster that are tainted with Vibrio vulnificus?
A: Unfortunately there are no telltale signs that an oyster is carrying the deadly bacteria. Vibrio vulnificus can't be seen, smelled, or even tasted.

22. Q: What is the actual number of people who gets sick from Vibrio vulnificus each year?
A: Public-health officials estimate that Vibrio vulnificus in shellfish causes
around 50-60 serious illnesses each year. Half of the people who develop a blood infection from this hazard die from it, making this one of the deadliest types of food poisoning.

23. Q: How will I know if I have infection from Vibrio vulnificus?
A: In healthy individuals, gastroenteritis usually occurs within 16 hours of ingesting the organism. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain which can start from 12 to 72 hours after eating infected food. For infected cuts or sores symptoms are redness, pain or swelling around the cut that spreads quickly, cuts or sores that get larger and deeper or blister.

24. Q: How does the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria look like?
A: It cannot be seen by the naked eye, but through a microscope it appears to be curved and rod shaped. Pretty harmless looking for something so dangerous.

25. Q: Can a person infected with Vibrio vulnificus contaminate other people?
A: Yes, People can contaminate water and food with Vibrios for as long as the organism remains in the stool. This can last as long as several days.

26. What are Vibrio bacteria?
Vibrio bacteria come from a genus of Gram-negative bacteria that possesses a curved rod shape. Most Vibrio species are halophilic and are usually found in saltwater. They do not form spores and are facultative anaerobes.

27. Where can they be found?
Vibrio Bacteria can be found in all coastal waters of the United States (and some of the brackish lakes in Oklahoma and New Mexico).
The bacteria is also associated with several marine species like plankton, shellfish (oysters, clams, and crabs), and finfish that inhabit the area.

28. Are there factors that contribute to the occurrence and concentration of Vibrio bacteria in certain bodies of water?
Several environmental factors are responsible for the occurrence of the bacteria in the environment and these include temperature, salinity, water pH and the increase of dissolved organics.

29. Are Vibrio bacteria harmful?
Yes, some species of Vibrio bacteria can cause serious infection, amputation and is often times fatal for human beings.

30. What happens during a Vibrio infection?
Some specific types of Vibrio Cholerae that cause the specific disease cholera. Other types of Vibrio Cholerae, however, along with Vibrio Vulnificus and Vibrio Parahemolyticus can cause infections that are typified by gastroenteritis, severe wound infections and septicemia. The infection is also often accompanied by headache and fever.
In certain individuals who have liver disease, leukemia, or other chronic diseases that affect their immune system, certain species of Vibrio, like the Vibrio Vulnificus, can cause blood infections leading to septic shock, which can be fatal if left untreated.

31. How soon do symptoms appear?
Symptoms usually appear 12 to 24 hours after infection for most Vibrio organisms. For V.
Vulnificus, symptoms can take as long as 72 hours to appear.

32. How can you get a Vibrio infection?
Vibrio organisms are spread when a person eats food or water with high Vibrio concentration or water that has been contaminated with feces or vomit of an infected person. Wound infections result either from contaminating an open wound with sea water harboring the organism, or by lacerating a part of the body on coral, fish, etc., followed by contamination with the organism. A lot of Vibrio organisms are free living in salt or brackish water, or reside in sea animals that filter water, like oysters and others. An infection can therefore occur after eating these shellfish if raw or undercooked. Finally, infection can occur after a wound is contaminated by water that harbors Vibrios, but this route of infection is less commonly identified than the others described above.

33. What happens to a Vibrio wound infection?
These skin infections may lead to cellulitis, ulceration, necrotizing fasciitis, and sepsis.
Because of the invasiveness of these wound infections, debridement of infected wounds is generally recommended to avoid limb amputation.

34. How are Vibrio infections diagnosed?
Diagnosis is done by culturing of the organism from wounds, diarrheic stools, or blood of the person infected.

35. Have there been major Vibrio infection outbreaks?
No major outbreaks of illnesses attributed to the Vibrio bacteria have been reported. Illnesses usually occur sporadically, but usually become more prevalent during summer months.

36. Why are Vibrio infections more prevalent during the summer months?
Warm waters produce higher concentrations of Vibrio bacteria.

37. Can everyone become sick with Vibrio infections?
Vibrio bacteria is not toxic to all people and can be killed by the liver, kidneys, by the blood or by stomach acids. For some healthy individuals, it may cause mild gastroenteritis.
However, people with gastric disorders, liver diseases (like cirrhosis or hepatitis) and hemochromatosis, diabetes and people with suppressed immune systems and renal disorders may be at risk. In these individuals, the microorganism enters the blood stream, resulting in septic shock, rapidly followed by death.

38. Are all Vibrio species human pathogens?
Not all Vibrio species are pathogenic to humans. Eleven species of Vibrio are now known to be capable of causing serious human illness. The most common species that cause infections in human beings are Vibrio Parahemolyticus, Vibrio Vulnificus and Vibrio Cholerae.

39. What is the most dangerous type of Vibrio species?
Vibrio Vulnificus is considered to be the most lethal of the Vibrio species inhabiting brackish and salt water. Vibrio Vulnificus is the most important pathogenic Vibrio specie in the United States because of its invasiveness and the high fatality rates (more than 50%) associated with infection.

40. How are Vibrio Vulnificus infections treated?
Vibrio Vulnificus wound infections and primary septicemia requires antimicrobial treatment to improve the course of illness and to prevent complications.

41. What are foods associated with Vibrio illnesses?
This organism has been isolated from oysters, clams, and crabs. Consumption of these products raw or re-contaminated ones may result in illness.

42. A lot of reported Vibrio infections are caused by eating raw oysters. But how do oysters get Vibrio bacteria?
Oysters and other shellfish feed themselves by filtering hundreds of gallons of seawater per day, and may filter bacteria occurring naturally in certain bodies of water, like the Gulf of Mexico, for example.

43. How do you know if an oyster is contaminated with Vibrio Vulnificus bacteria?
The bacterium is microscopic, so one cannot tell if an oyster is contaminated by merely looking at or smelling it. In order to test bacteria presence, the oyster must be destroyed and subjected to laboratory testing.

44. How do you prevent oysters from making you sick?
Post-harvest processing raw oysters or cooking oysters will ensure that individuals do not become sick from the vibrio contained in raw oysters.

45. Are there ways to ensure safe harvesting and serving of oysters?
Quick refrigeration methods, post-harvest processing and cooking oysters are ways to make oysters safe through harvesting and serving.

46. Are there government agencies or programs created to directly address the problem with Vibrio infections?
Yes, the ICCS or Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference and the NSSP or National Shellfish Sanitation Program have been created to directly address problems caused by the Vibrio bacteria.

47. What is the ICCS and what does it do?
The ICCS or Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference was formed in 1982 and works with federal control agencies such as the FDA, EPA, MFS and CDC to address and control problems regarding the Vibrio bacteria.

48. How has the ICCS taken steps in addressing problems regarding Vibrio infections?
The ISSC adopted proposal 07-202. Proposal 07-202 states that in order for oysters to continue to be sold in interstate commerce, anytime water temperatures rise above 81 degrees Fahrenheit, oysters for the half-shell market must be refrigerated within five hours after harvest.  If oysters are not refrigerated within five hours after harvest, then they must be tagged, "For Cooking or Post-harvest Processing Only."

49. What is Post – Harvest Processing?
It is the individual quick freezing of oysters by low heat/cool pasteurization and/or high hydrostatic pressure.

50. What is the NSSP?
The National Shellfish Sanitation Program is designed to prevent human illness associated with the consumption of fresh and frozen shellfish (oysters, clams, and mussels) through the establishment of sanitary controls over all phases of the growing, harvesting, shucking, packing and distribution of fresh and frozen shellfish.

51. Who coordinates and administers the NSSP?
The FDA administers the NSSP.

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Facts & Stats

Did you know that Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, an extremely harmful bacterium, is not a pollutant and occurs naturally in the Gulf of Mexico? The oyster, because it feeds by filtering hundreds of gallons of seawater per day, concentrates the bacteria inside of itself. Studies suggested that under the appropriate conditions 55-60% of all oysters might contain the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria in different doses. Proper cooking or post-harvest processing will kill the bacteria.

Most people do not know that oysters caught in the summer months carry a risk of making people sick, but through post-harvest processing and cooking that risk can be eliminated.

Studies showed that in every state, raw oyster consumers were predominantly male, with 60 percent male and 40 percent female. While it is commonly accepted that men eat raw oysters more than women do, these data confirm that the difference is substantial.

Scientists have been studying Vibrio vulnificus for more than 20 years but to this day very few consumers know of these harmful and potentially deadly bacteria. Since 1989, at least 263 people are known to have fallen sick from eating raw shellfish contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus; of those, 138 died.

In 1997, the FDA estimated that between 12 million and 30 million people, as many as one in nine Americans, had medical conditions that made them especially vulnerable to Vibrio vulnificus blood infection.   This means as many as 1/9th of the population at any given time are susceptible to becoming ill or dying from vibrio through consuming raw oysters.

99% of raw oysters from the Gulf Coast are still unsafe. A few shellfish processors have begun to use new oyster treatment technologies, but the industry itself concedes that just one percent of raw oysters harvested from the Gulf Coast are being treated because it is not mandatory or regulated and is only done on a voluntary basis.

Although Vibrio vulnificus is a naturally occurring bacterium, its levels increase dramatically after the shellfish are harvested during warmer months, due to conditions on the vessel and during transport. In fact, the bacterium can increase 10- to 100-fold in Gulf Coast shellfish from the time of harvest to retail sale, because of lack of refrigeration or other factors related to human intervention. Bacteria level this high can cause serious health issues.

Aside from the Vibrio vulnificus other pathogens can contaminate raw shellfish. In 1997, Vibrio parahaemolyticus-tainted oysters caused more than 400 illnesses in 13 states. In 1998, raw oysters transmitted the Norwalk virus to about 300 people in California.

California is the only state that implements total ban of Gulf Coast harvested oysters during high-risk months.

Even after many years of research, scientists are still not able to accurately peg the infectious dose of Vibrio vulnificus.

The first sensational case regarding Vibrio vulnificus infection is that of 80-year-old Eric Rosenwald. His case started the drive to educate consumers about the deadly Vibrio vulnificus bacteria.

Did you know that even if you ingest just a small amount of oyster you could still be infected? Roberta Hammond, Ph.D, the Food and Waterborne Disease Coordinator for Florida, cites a case where a fatality caused by Vibrio vulnificus occurred after eating only three oysters.

Nearly all of the deaths from Vibrio vulnificus-contaminated raw shellfish have involved oysters harvested from Gulf Coast waters because the water is warmer in this place.

There’s an actual song that was written about how you can eat oysters safely and its entitled “Fifty Ways to Eat Your Oysters”.  (See Articles and Documents link)

All harvested oysters should be undergoing individual quick-freezing to avoid being infected by Vibrio vulnificus. Oysters that were not immediately refrigerated should be packed and labeled “for cooking purposes only.  This practice would protect consumers, however it is not currently legally required, nor is the precautionary practice followed.

Oysters coming from clean unpolluted water are not necessarily safe. Vibrio vulnificus bacteria have nothing to do with pollution.

Soaking raw oysters in hot sauce and other spicy concoctions will not kill the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria.

The Vibrio vulnificus bacteria was first identified as an agent of disease in 1976, its first recorded fatality was in 1979.

“Boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it!” One of the popular slogans to inform people of the dangers of eating raw oysters.

Washing a Vibrio vulnificus infected wound will not make the bacteria go away. It’s resistant to soap and water.

In the summer of 2007 when Northern seawater warms the Vibrio vulnificus flesh-eating bacteria was declared a bigger threat to swimmers than the man-eating sharks.

51% of people who will get the Vibrio vulnificus infection will not survive. 95% of deaths from seafood are caused by this bacteria.

The Vibrio vulnificus bacteria is not exclusive to oysters, you can also get it from crabs and clams.

The presence of Vibrio Vulnificus bacteria is not because of pollutants but they occur naturally in the Gulf of Mexico.

60% of all oysters may contain the Vibrio Vulnificus bacteria in different doses.
Vibrio Vulnificus bacteria in Southern Louisiana occurs .6 to 1.9 cases per 100,000
Vibrio bacteria can be found in all coastal waters of the United States (and some of the brackish lakes in Oklahoma and New Mexico).

The term "fishermen’s disease" is actually an infection caused by the Vibrio bacteria.

Half of those who develop blood infections from Vibrio Vulnificus bacteria contamination die, making this one of the deadliest types of poisoning.

Eleven species of Vibrio are now known to be capable of causing serious human illness.
Among the eleven pathogenic Vibrio species, Vibrio Vulnificus is the most important in the United States.

The highest level of Vibrio bacteria occur during the warmer months.

About half of new marine Vibrio bacteria discovered in the last five years, can kill fish and crustaceans.

The most common Vibrio disease caused by a Vibrio specie is cholera.

It is estimated that 8000 illnesses are reported to be caused by the Vibrio bacteria in the US each year.  Of the 8000 illnesses, only 2800 cases are non- food borne.

The entire population is at risk for gastroenteritis, but only immunocompromised people are at risk for developing septicemia.

Only 3 out of 1000 cases of gastroenteritis develop and become septicemia.

Vibrio Vulnificus infections do not spread directly from one person to another.

Vibrio Vulnificus causes a disease with over a 50 percent mortality rate.

Vibrios are one of the most common organisms in surface waters of the world.

Vibrio cholerae can survive in fresh water, but most other Vibrio species are found only in salt and brackish water where they pose the greatest threat of wound infections – especially in warmer water.

The region’s annual oyster harvest at approximately $40 million dollars.

Vibrio Vulnificus can cause gastroenteritis to virtually anyone, but can produce a fatal blood infection to people with suppressed immune systems, gastric, liver and renal diseases.
There are about 12 million - 30 million Americans who potentially fall into these catagories and are immunocompromised.

Approximately 3 million persons in Florida eat raw oysters; of these, 71,000 persons are believed to have liver disease.

Louisiana is the largest producer of oysters in the United States, and the majority of the oysters Louisiana produces go out of state.

One out of nine Americans have medical conditions that make them vulnerable to Vibrio Vulnificus blood infection.

Mortality from infection varied from 55% for primary septicemia cases, to 24% with wound infections, to no deaths associated with gastroenteritis.

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