Oyster beds in Plymouth, Kingston, Duxbury, and Marshfield are closed until further notice because a pathogen that can cause nausea, fever, and other ailments has been linked to those areas, state officials said Friday.
The pathogen, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, has been tied to oysters harvested in the beds, the state Department of Public Health and Division of Marine Fisheries said in a joint statement.
Officials said the shuttered beds are in Plymouth Harbor, Kingston Bay, Duxbury Bay, Bluefish River, and Back River.
Harvesting oysters in these areas is prohibited during the closure, and officials have launched a recall of oysters collected from the affected spots since July 22, according to the statement. It is the first Vibrio outbreak linked to a specific harvest area in the Bay State, officials said.
Public health officials have linked three cases of Vibrio illness to oysters consumed from the affected areas, including two cases where oysters were eaten outside Massachusetts, the statement said. All three victims recovered.
Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, and chills, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness usually lasts for three days, but people with weak immune systems may experience serious health problems, the CDC said on its website.
About 10 percent of victims may require hospitalization for blood infections, state officials said.
In Massachusetts, officials have received 50 confirmed reports of the infection in residents since May 31, compared with 27 cases during the same time period last year, authorities said.
“Vibrio is an emerging, naturally occurring bacterial pathogen often found in oysters harvested from warmer waters,” said the statement from the Massachusetts agencies. “It is not related to pollution of Massachusetts shellfish.”
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