News For Oyster Lovers
If you live with diabetes and are an oyster lover, you should know about a bacterium called Vibrio vulnificus. Thoroughly cooked oysters don’t cause problems, but if you eat raw or undercooked oysters, you are asking for trouble.
The words "Vibrio vulnificus" roll off the tongue, but can have a deadly consequence. The source of the trouble resides in the fact that oysters thrive in the same waters that are ideal for the vibrio bacteria. Colleen Crowe, Surveillance Epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains that oysters feed by filtering the surrounding water that may harbor the vibrios. When diabetics dine on raw or undercooked oysters, they unknowingly may also dine on Vibrio vulnificus. Then the body becomes the perfect laboratory for the bacteria to do its damage.
A non-diabetic will, at most, occasionally experience mild symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain or even vomiting. But if diabetics ingest raw or undercooked oysters, the results can be very different.
Nicholas Daniels, M.D., an internist with the University of California at San Francisco Mt. Zion Medical Center, who has written articles on Vibrio vulnificus, describes how the diabetic lives with a depressed immune system. This chronic condition makes the diabetic more susceptible to infections of any kind and sets up the first step for trouble when Vibrio vulnificus enters the body.
In addition to a weakened immune system, many diabetics have stomach abnormalities, such as low stomach acid, which help the vibrios multiply. Think of the immune system as marshalling your white blood cells as the first line of defense against infection for both defense and repair of your body. When the immune system is operating at peak performance, you are healthy, but when it isn't, damage can get out of control.
Dr. Daniels stresses that in the diabetic, the white blood cells aren't as effective as in the non-diabetic body. Sometimes the vibrios cannot be contained in the stomach and multiply rapidly until they break through the intestinal wall. Once in the bloodstream, the vibrios can create toxins and, as Dr. Daniels explains, "There is whole other battle" and the diabetic can develop blood poisoning, called septicemia.
Again, the white blood cells are overwhelmed and once septicemia develops, according to the Food and Drug Administrations appropriately named, "Bad Bug Book," those who are at risk and develop septicemia, have only a 50 percent survival rate. When the bacteria releases toxins in the bloodstream, creating the blood poisoning, the blood vessels dilate and dangerously low blood pressure, called hypotension, occurs. The body simply can't create enough pressure to pump adequate blood to the heart and the brain for the victim to survive. Though septicemia from Vibrio vulnificus is uncommon, a diabetic should never take the chance.
Some oyster lovers think there are tricks to avoid Vibrio vunlificus, such as:
Method No 1: Smother the oysters in hot sauce.
Reality: This technique doesn’t work any better than using plain water.
Method No. 2: Avoid oysters from polluted waters and you are safe.
Reality: Vibrio vulnificus are naturally occurring bacteria that have no connection with pollution. They are found mainly in the coastal waters along the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi.
Method No. 3: Most experienced oysters lovers can detect a good oyster from a bad one.
Reality: Vibrio vulnificus can’t be tasted, seen or smelled. No restaurant, even busy ones with a high turnover, can guarantee the absence of harmful bacteria.
Method No. 4: Alcoholic beverages kill vibrios.
Reality: Alcohol has little effect on harmful bacteria.
Method No. 5: Eating just a few oysters can’t hurt you.
Reality: Roberts Hammond, PhD, Florida’s Food and Waterborne Disease Coordinator, reports a documented fatality where the victim consumed only three oysters.
Method No. 6: Avoid raw oysters in months without the letter "r" and you will be fine.
Reality: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, advise that a full 40% of cases occur from September through April even though the vibrio bacteria are more prevalent during the warmer months of the year.
Hammond points out that the seriousness of any one case depends on a number of factors, including how many bacteria were ingested and what underlying health conditions are present, but cautions that the fatal dose for anyone at risk is unknown.
You don’t have to give up oysters because cooking them thoroughly destroys Vibrio vulnificus. The Food and Drug Administration recommends:
Boiling oysters until the shells open and then continue cooking five more minutes. If you prefer steaming, wait until the shells open and time the steaming for nine more minutes. If you are cooking shucked oysters, boil them at least three full minutes or fry them in oil at least ten minutes at 375 degree F. Always avoid mixing the cooked oysters with raw ones or mixing them with any of the juice from raw oysters. Eat the cooked oysters soon after you prepare them and refrigerate any leftovers.
Some oyster lovers shudder at the idea of cooking oysters at all, claiming that heat spoils the entire experience. They insist the thrill is in the cold, sea-infused texture and taste of the oyster sliding down the throat. But for diabetics the risk is too high. Cooking thoroughly is the only good answer for an already challenged immune system.
Information provided by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference.