Long Beach residents were advised not to eat raw oysters from certain areas of Mexico on Friday as the city investigates a possible outbreak of norovirus, according to City Health Officer Dr. Anissa Davis.
More than 150 possible cases of the gastrointestinal illness, commonly called “stomach flu,” have been reported throughout Southern California.
In Long Beach, eight people have fallen ill, but officials are still looking into where those infections originated and whether reported illnesses were caused by eating raw oysters.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has identified contaminated oysters from Baja California and Sonora, Mexico. Information on specific retailers can be found here. Oysters from those regions have been sold at local restaurants and retail outlets across the Southland and in Long Beach, the city confirmed.
Symptoms, including diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain, usually appear 12 to 48 hours after exposure and can last between one to three days. The virus is highly contagious and easily spread from person to person by touching contaminated surfaces, or by eating contaminated food, officials said.
The city warned that some people, including young children, older adults and those who are immunocopromised, are at higher risk for “severe health out comes.”
Anyone who thinks they may have been sick from eating oysters can file a report as the department continues to investigate the foodborne illness.