Walvis Aquapark 4 oysters not to be consumed
Samples tested for microbiological contamination
Oyster samples from Aquapark 4 tested positive for vibrio parahaemolyticus, and are therefore potentially unsafe to consume until further notice.
Aquapark 4 in the Walvis Bay Production Areas (salt pans) has been temporarily closed, and members of the public have been warned not to consume oysters from this area.
This is according to a warning issued by the fisheries ministry last week, stating that oyster samples from this area were tested for microbiological contamination during the most recent official sampling and testing by the Namibian Standards Institution as part of the national shellfish sanitation programme.
According to ministry executive director Annely Haiphene, the latest test results from oyster samples were positive for the presence of vibrio parahaemolyticus, and are therefore potentially unsafe to consume until further notice.
She added that vibrio parahaemolyticus can be destroyed by properly cooking oysters.
Vibrio bacteria naturally inhabits coastal waters where oysters live. Since oysters feed by filtering water, vibrio and other harmful bacteria and viruses can concentrate in their tissues.
“Vibrio parahaemolyticus is kind of gram-negative motile bacteria inhabiting marine and estuarine environments throughout the world and is a major food-borne pathogen that causes diarrhoea, primarily after consuming raw or undercooked seafood,” the ministry said.
Symptoms
The typical clinical symptoms of vibrio parahaemolyticus poisoning are acute dysentery and abdominal pain, accompanied by diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills and watery stools.
When any of these symptoms occur after eating molluscan shellfish, seek immediate medical assistance and inform medical practitioners what you ate.
This is according to a warning issued by the fisheries ministry last week, stating that oyster samples from this area were tested for microbiological contamination during the most recent official sampling and testing by the Namibian Standards Institution as part of the national shellfish sanitation programme.
According to ministry executive director Annely Haiphene, the latest test results from oyster samples were positive for the presence of vibrio parahaemolyticus, and are therefore potentially unsafe to consume until further notice.
She added that vibrio parahaemolyticus can be destroyed by properly cooking oysters.
Vibrio bacteria naturally inhabits coastal waters where oysters live. Since oysters feed by filtering water, vibrio and other harmful bacteria and viruses can concentrate in their tissues.
“Vibrio parahaemolyticus is kind of gram-negative motile bacteria inhabiting marine and estuarine environments throughout the world and is a major food-borne pathogen that causes diarrhoea, primarily after consuming raw or undercooked seafood,” the ministry said.
Symptoms
The typical clinical symptoms of vibrio parahaemolyticus poisoning are acute dysentery and abdominal pain, accompanied by diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills and watery stools.
When any of these symptoms occur after eating molluscan shellfish, seek immediate medical assistance and inform medical practitioners what you ate.
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