The CDC, state and local health officials, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating a multistate outbreak of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website, the outbreak is linked to eating fresh crab meat imported from Venezuela.
CDC reports, twelve people have been infected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus after eating fresh crab meat. The outbreaks have been reported from Maryland, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. Four of the 12 people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.
The CDC suggests people not eat, restaurants not serve, and retailers do not sell fresh crab meat imported from Venezuela. The meat can be labeled as fresh or precooked, according to the CDC.
If anyone is not sure whether the crab meat is from Venezuela, do not eat it, instead throw it out. Contaminated food can look, smell and taste normal.
For more information on the Vibrio outbreak visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website.