Raw oysters: deadly delicacy.

Last Easter Sunday, 59-year-old Charles Mann of Gulfport, Mississippi shared a plate of raw oysters oysters with his wife. Three days later he was dead.

Ever hear the old saying that it's safe to eat shellfish in any month that has an "r" in its name? Forget it. While fresh oysters are deadliest in the summer, they can be lethal any time.

Every year, more than 50 people become ill--and at least ten die--after eating uncooked Gulf Coast oysters that are contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus bacteria.

It doesn't have to happen. Vibrio can be destroyed by heat. But the oyster industry won't act unless the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gets its head out of the sand and sets mandatory safety standards for uncooked shellfish.

Troubled Waters

Vibrio vulnificus thrive in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast of Florida, where the bacteria occur naturally. That's also where oysters thrive. (Few Vibrio deaths or illnesses have been blamed on shellfish from the colder waters of the northern Atlantic or Pacific.)

The Gulf Coast oyster fleet isn't equipped to handle shellfish that will be eaten raw. Few boats contain refrigeration equipment, and levels of Vibrio in unrefrigerated oysters can double every four hours. Current regulations allow shellfish to remain unrefrigerated for up to ten hours after being caught.

Since you can't see, taste, or smell Vibrio, eating uncooked warm-water oysters is like playing Russian roulette. And just because you eat them in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, or New York doesn't mean you're less likely to get sick. Raw Gulf Coast oysters are shipped all over the country.

For most people, a brush with Vibrio--while unpleasant--isn't deadly. It might mean vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. But to the one person in ten who is especially vulnerable, a Vibrio-tainted oyster can lead to septicemia--an often-fatal bloodstream infection--within a day or two.

At greatest risk are people suffering from liver disease, liver damage from too much alcohol, or iron-overload disease (hemochromatosis); people with cancer, diabetes, hepatitis, or AIDS; and people who take corticosteroids for rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, or other conditions.

Septicemia isn't pretty. It causes high fever, chills, massive swelling and blistering wounds on the legs, vomiting, diarrhea, and a sharp drop in blood pressure.

Turning on the Heat

So far, attempts to alert the public to the dangers of eating raw oysters--including warning notices on food labels in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and California--haven't reduced the number of people falling ill or dying ... although they may have prevented more deaths.

So last May, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the consumer group that publishes Nutrition Action Healthletter, petitioned the FDA to require that Gulf Coast shellfish processors treat raw shellfish to reduce bacterial contamination to non-detectable levels.

There's only one way to do that ... with heat. To fans of oysters on the half shell, that amounts to heresy.

Enter Ameripure Oyster Companies of Empire, Louisiana. The company has developed a mild heat treatment that kills both the oyster and any Vibrio. (Raw-oyster-lovers on our staff thought they tasted fine, if a little bland.) Other similar treatments are in the pipeline.

You can help get the FDA moving by mailing them this coupon or, better, by writing a personal letter or shooting off an e-mail.