Two people have died this month in Florida after eating raw oysters that came from Louisiana.
According to the Associated Press, both men died from the bacterial infection Vibrio, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says doesn’t make an oyster look, smell, or taste any different.
The manager of the Rustic Inn in Fort Lauderdale, Gary Oreal, told the South Florida SunSentinel that the customer who died previously worked at the restaurant years ago.
He told the newspaper that they've served billions of oysters for 60 years and have "never had anyone get sick like this guy did," the newspaper reported.
Oreal said a day after the man became ill, the restaurant's kitchen and oyster inventory, which he said came from Louisiana, were inspected by the Florida Department of Health, according to the newspaper.
He told the newspaper the restaurant "passed with flying colors" and they were "allowed to continue to sell oysters," the newspaper reported.
A sign warning customers about the risks of eating raw shellfish was posted by the restaurant, the news outlets reported.
News of the man in Fort Lauderdale dying comes after another man died after eating oysters in Pensacola, the Associated Press reported.
Officials told the Pensacola News Journal that the man bought the oysters, which also came from Louisiana, at a market.
The Associated Press reported that the CDC says about 80,000 people get the bacterial infection each year in the U.S., with about 100 people dying from it.
According to the news outlet, the Florida Department of Health reported that out of the 26 people who've become infected with the bacteria this year, six of them died after consuming raw shellfish, including oysters.
