British Columbia



172 people from B.C. to Ontario reported illnesses after eating raw oysters the last two months

Oysters grown on Canada's West Coast are seen for sale at Vancouver's Granville Island Market in February. (David Horemans/CBC)


Darlene Winterburn, the executive director of the B.C. Shellfish Growers Association, said the latest outbreak will likely take a "significant" toll on the province's industry, which is still trying to absorb $9.1 million in losses from last year.

"It's significant because a lot of people haven't recovered from last time, it's significant because branding is being affected and it's significant because the uncertainty is making particularly small guys very hesitant to reinvest," she said.


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Investigation ongoing



"(Oysters) filter the water that can be contaminated with norovirus and then they become contaminated with norovirus and then we unfortunately consume them and make ourselves sick that way," she said.


Winterburn said although the specific source of the contamination wasn't pinpointed in last year's outbreak, the current investigation is likely to be more conclusive, which can help prevent future incidents.


"The vast majority of the industry is functioning as normal," she said, adding that unaffected farms are still seeing a decline in orders because of fears the problem is more widespread.

Winterburn said these incidents point to the broader issue of polluted oceans.

"The oyster is telling us something," she said. "We need to be very cognizant of what it is we're putting into our water."

Sewage treatment practices, the quality of septic systems and illegal dumping from vessels are all areas where Winterburn said improvements could be made that would prevent contamination and better preserve the marine environment.