Christ… I had no idea!
More than you ever wanted to know
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/vibriovulnificus_g.htm
Life. Nobody gets out alive.
Sometimes things like raw oysters are worth a little risk.
But keep the doxycycline handy.
Oh, sure, until all of a sudden you’re projectile vomiting everything you even so much as smell, and you’ve got a beautiful bright-red rash around your eyes that makes you look like a racoon, and you’re trying to convince your MD over the phone that no, this was NOT a good idea to try out.
Then it’s not so smart to keep the doxy handy. 
I think that’s vibrio vulnificus. There are several cases along the southern coastal areas every year. Most cases occur in people who are ill already with liver or immunity related diseases.
This is interesting. I think this explains why we Europeans don’t eat oysters or other shellfish in the summer months (the rule, is that a month without an ‘R’ in the name means shellfish are off-limits). The report says that the bacterium normally lives in warm seawater, so probably only the summer months are warm enough here in Europe. That would explain the ‘R’ rule, which I never quite understood.
Partially. In the summer, you also get ‘red tide’ algal blooms of the dinoflagellate that produces saxitoxin. That raises the possibility of dying from Paralytic shellfish poisoning.
Always thought the reason the “R” legend surfaced was that oysters spawned in the warmer months. Supposedly their taste and texture is quite different, read:substandard, during these months. It should follow that if these are indeed spawning months, it’s best to leave the oysters to do their thing, thereby ensuring more and better oysters down the road, so to speak.
Well, if they only ate raw Rocky Mountain Oysters …
It would probably be safer than eating a filter-feeder raw.
I mean, yuck! I’ve had raw oysters before, and I dont’ think the taste is worth the risk. What kind of an effete snob thinks eating raw oysters is such a good idea? How about grabbing a catfish out of the bottom of a river and sucking its guts out raw?
People are so goddam stupid. Put some tabasco on it to kill the worms. Yeah right, make the worms angry so they burrow into your brain instead of infesting your colon.
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A friend of mine ate some bad fish, once. He said , “I should have known better, I took French” poisson/poison
It’s not just the snobbery and the flavor. A significant number of people regard oysters as aphrodisiacs - a sort of pre-industrial Viagra. In which case who cares what it tastes like - I’m getting sex tonight!!!
As anyone who works in an ER about the embarassing, stupid, and even dangerous stuff people will do in pursuit of an orgasm. Some of which makes eating raw oysters from warm waters look like good odds.
Maybe we should conduct a rigorous scientific trial. All members of the SDMB should be allocated (at random) either a raw oyster, a Mars Bar or a gerbil. Last man standing wins.
I don’t think I qualify as an “effete snob,” but I gotta tell you, oysters are seriously good.
I work directly across the street from the famed Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station, in New York City. At least once a week, after work I’ll go there with a friend or two for a dozen oysters and a beer. They’ve got oysters from all over – west coast, east coast, Japan (they seem to have very good oysters in Japan, by the way).
I love oysters. I love oysters. Give me more.
To be fair, the article didn’t mention whether or not they were sporting wood as they lay writhing on the hospital bed.
I love the Oyster Bar’s raw platters… I think I know where I’m going for dinner now!
AAAAHHH! OYSTERS! We dissected some clams in Zoology, and… although I never liked clams before, I plan on NEVER eating them now. Aahhh!
Correct.
Every establishment serving raw shellfish has signs posted prominently, warning those who have a history of liver disease or compromised immune systems that eating raw shellfish can be deadly. But every year a few people still get sick.
The “R rule” is from the days before refrigeration, it’s generally ignored today.
By the way, the man who died was from Wewahitchka (known as “Wewa” around here), which is right next door to Apalachicola, source of some of the finest oysters in the world. I find it hard to believe that he didn’t understand the health risks associated with eating raw oysters - maybe he didn’t know his immune system was compromised.
I ate two dozen raw for supper the other night. My favorite beach bar has them on special for $1.99 a dozen. Burp!
I seem to recall that vibrio lives best in temps above 68-69F. Waters are warmer in May, June, July and August, so that leaves about 8 good oyster eating months.
Please note that almost no one who lives in Wewahitchka, Apalachicola, or practically anywhere from Pasco County all the way around the Gulf to New Orleans, can very easily be called an “effete snob”. More likely they’re crackers*.
And oysters are considered a very good meal in the area. Just the way it is. I’m sure a lot more people die on the way home from the Budweiser than they do later from the shellfish.
Ca3799, the Gulf Waters in this area are warmer than 70 F for the better part of 6-8 months around here.
*Which taste great with raw oysters, some lemon juice and horseradish on top.