Oyster-associated hepatitis. Failure of shellfish certification programs to prevent outbreaks
B. L. Portnoy, P. A. Mackowiak, C. T. Caraway, J. A. Walker, T. W. McKinley and C. A. Klein Jr
During October and November 1973, outbreaks of hepatitis A associated with
consumption of raw oysters occurred in Houston and in Calhoun, Ga. The
oysters implicated in both outbreaks had been harvested in two Louisiana
bays. Although the bays had been contaminated with polluted Mississippi
River water two months before the oysters were harvested, at the time of
harvesting the bays met national sanitation standards for shellfish growing
and were certified for oyster fishing. These epidemics raise serious
questions about the adequacy of shellfish sanitation monitoring systems
currently in use.
