By Foibe Paavo
SWAKOPMUND, June 15 – The public has been warned not to eat oysters from the salt pans at Walvis Bay until further notice as these have been found to have a marine bacterium that could cause illness.
In a press statement issued on Monday, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources said oyster samples from Aquapark 4, Walvis Bay Production Area tested positive for the presence of Vibrio Parahaemolyticus and that Aquapark 4 is temporarily closed for oyster harvesting until further notice.
These results were found during the most recent sampling and testing by the Namibian Standards Institution (NSI) as part of the National Shellfish Sanitation Programme.
The ministry stressed, however, that Vibrio parahaemolyticus can be destroyed by properly cooking oysters.
According to the statement, Vibrio Parahaemolyticus is a major food-borne bacteria that causes diarrhoea, primarily after eating raw or uncooked seafood.
Typical clinical symptoms are acute dysentery and abdominal pain, accompanied by diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills and water-like stools. – Namibia Daily News
