Overview
- Federal officials report 64 infections across 22 states, with 20 hospitalizations at a higher-than-expected rate and no deaths.
- Illness onset dates span June 21 to Nov. 28, and case counts may increase because confirmations often lag by several weeks.
- Interviews show 20 of 27 sickened people ate raw oysters in the week before falling ill, pointing to oysters as the likely source.
- Whole-genome sequencing via PulseNet found closely related bacteria in patients, indicating a common contaminated food source.
- CDC and FDA have not identified a shared harvest area or distributor, and they urge cooking oysters since condiments do not kill germs.