State health officials are asking people who recently harvested or ate any shellfish from the Oregon Coast to complete a survey as part of an investigation of at least 20 illnesses linked to shellfish biotoxins. On May 28, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) urged people to throw out mussels gathered from beaches between Seal Rock State Park north to the Washington border after cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) were reported to the agency. The shellfish were harvested at beaches in Lincoln, Tillamook and Clatsop counties.
Among other symptoms, paralytic shellfish poisoning can paralyze respiratory muscles. The health authority is now asking people who harvested or ate Oregon shellfish since May 13 to take a short survey to help investigators identify a possible cause of the outbreak and how many people became sick. Responses are secure and confidential, and will help OHA Public Health Division investigators learn more about the sources and size of this outbreak.
Those who already completed an interview with their local public health agency do not need to complete the survey. Contact Rosalie Trevejo ( rosalie.trevejo2@oha.
oregon.gov ) or June Bancroft ( june.e.
bancroft@oha.oregon.gov ) of OHA’s Public Health Division with any questions or concerns about the survey.
On May 23, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) closed a stretch of Oregon Coast to mussel harvesting from Seal Rock State Park north to Cape Lookou.