FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ A plate of raw oysters cost Jose Luis Ruiz his leg, his livelihood and his house.
The night he ate them, the 51-year-old awoke with an upset stomach and pain in his calf. Within two days, he could barely walk.
Doctors told his wife: "If he keeps his leg, he'll die. If we cut it off, he might live."
Ruiz is among more than 700 people in the United States since 1989 to become seriously ill from deadly bacteria found in raw oysters from the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly half died.
Other foodborne illnesses sicken far more people, but none is as lethal. Vibrio vulnificus causes excruciating pain as the infection eats through skin and muscle, often leading to amputations and death within days.
Food safety authorities know how to prevent this. California in 2003 prohibited the sale of raw Gulf oysters in the warm, high-risk months of April through October unless they've been treated to kill the bacteria. Since then, just one death has been linked to raw oysters in that state.
But when food regulators tried to require treatment of Gulf oysters nationwide, the industry and its allies in Congress quickly defeated the effort. They said the expense would devastate the oyster business. Those who become seriously ill or die, they said, are chronically ill people who should know better than to eat raw oysters.
The industry agreed to practices that have reduced serious illnesses, but it continues to reject the only strategy that has been proven to prevent deaths caused by raw oysters.
Instead, policymakers created regulations that have been difficult to enforce and still leave consumers vulnerable, the Sun Sentinel found. In Florida, oyster harvesters and dealers who violate those rules face minor penalties, if any, even when someone dies.
Vibrio vulnificus can cause mild symptoms in healthy people but quickly becomes life-threatening in some with underlying conditions such as liver disease, diabetes, cancer or AIDS. Millions of Americans have conditions that put them at risk, and many may not even know it.
Consuming two to three drinks a day can cause liver damage years before symptoms develop. And many Americans, especially those who are overweight, may have undiagnosed diabetes.
Ruiz, of Chattanooga, Tenn., said he didn't know he was vulnerable. Doctors discovered he had hepatitis when they amputated his leg.
"There are ways to prevent this, but they're not doing it," Ruiz said.
