COUNTYWIDE : Officials Announce Mussels Quarantine
The Ventura County Environmental Health Division is asking shellfish aficionados not to eat mussels gathered from along the county’s coast.
Warm weather is causing the mussels to produce a potentially fatal poison if ingested, Environmental Health Division spokesman Robert Williamson said.
County officials have placed a quarantine on mussels until Oct. 31 to discourage the public from eating them. Officials will test local mussels for toxin throughout the quarantine.
The poison found in mussels can cause numbness, muscle incoordination, lightheadedness, slurred speech and, in severe cases, paralysis, Williamson said.
Paralysis can lead to death by asphyxiation if the person does not receive respiratory help until the body rids itself of the poison, Williamson said. There is no antidote to the toxin.
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