Illness Caused by Oysters Tied to Human Sewage
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ATLANTA — Sewage dumped by holiday boaters caused at least 100 people to become ill after eating oysters from the Gulf of Mexico, federal health officials said Thursday.
Cases of acute gastroenteritis were reported this month among people who consumed oysters from Apalachicola Bay in northwest Florida. The virus that caused the stomach and intestinal illness is present only in human sewage, said Dr. Roger Glass, chief of the viral gastroenteritis unit of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Apalachicola Bay was closed to oyster harvesting Jan. 4 after some people became ill.
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