I'd heard all the pro and con arguments for eating oysters and having more, uh... personal gusto. So some years back I tried one, a raw one and a fried one. The first one tasted like mucus, the second one tasted like fried mucus. No, I never developed a taste for them like some people do.

Years ago on an oil spill in the Mississippi River near Empire Louisiana, there was a world-famous oyster restaurant that made a pretty decent fried sirloin. But one evening after a long day of handling 'logistics' on a major oil spill I decided on the oysters. This place had operated in the same spot by the same family since, after WWII, it might still be in operation, I don't know, I've always wanted to go back.

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Getty Images - Hot Sauce can't be counted on to kill the vibrio germs.
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People who like oysters can shuck and eat them at the rate of around two dozen per hour I'm told. Like Ms. Jeanette LeBlanc who on a recent trip to Lafayette last fall ate about two dozen of the clammed snot, which she had purchased from a local market.

Within about 36 hours her breathing changed, a rash appeared on her legs and chest. At first, they all thought it was just an allergic reaction, but the symptoms worsened and in a matter of days doctors figured she had vibriosis. You get vibriosis from eating raw or undercooked seafood or by seawater touching a wound.

Ms. LeBlanc succumbed to the virus on October 15, 2017, after three weeks of horrible sickness. Newsweek

The CDC warns that anyone can get sick from raw oysters. Even healthy people can experience diarrhea and vomiting, but add that to someone with diabetes, a weakened immune system or other disorders and the effects can be amplified.

Adding hot sauce or lemon juice may ease your mind, but the CDC says the only way to be sure your seafood does not contain vibrio is to fully cook it. Vibrio can't be detected in water, even unpolluted water and can be found anywhere.

There's no sure way of knowing if your uncooked oysters or other seafood are contaminated.

So, as usual, it's steaks for me and my friends.

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