Jennie Bourgeois

By Dr. Ward Robinson

I’ve suspected that the first person to eat a raw oyster was either too drunk to know what they were doing or a freshman college student responding to an pledge challenge (and probably too drunk to know what they were doing).

There are two microbiologic reason to not eat oysters.

1: Oysters syphon seawater. So organisms that normally inhabit seawater are collected by oysters and live within them. The salt-loving (halophilic) bacteria can cause human illness, especially in those humans with iron storage problems (those with alcoholic liver disease). I personally saw a man die after eating a raw oyster at a local restaurant and after he developed shock from the microbe, Vibrio vulnificus. It was memorable to say the least.

2: Oysters syphon seawater. So any microbiologic that aren’t native to seawater but are contaminants in the water will concentrate in the oysters. That means that any fecal contamination of seawater by runoff from land will end up in the oysters. Hence historical concerns about hepatitis viruses (which are carried in human waste into the estuaries and then end up in oysters) are valid. Knowing that cycle (of human to waste to water to oyster) this weekend’s announcement by the US Food and Drug Administration of an outbreak of norovirus (Norwalk agent) contaminating oysters should be of no surprise. (Public Health Agencies Collaborate to Prevent Further Illnesses from Norovirus Outbreak Associated with Oysters Recently Harvested from Area Near Port Sulphur, La.)

Hot sauce doesn’t inactivate bacteria. Sprinkling tabasco sauce on oysters just makes the bacteria taste spicy.

Raw oysters don’t improve sexual powers. If that’s your motive, take a viagra.

The next burning question is “can you eat cooked oysters”?

Yeah, those are probably okay. Nutritionally I still don’t think they are a great idea.

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Emerging Models in Education

EDU 6054 – Final Project – Jennie Bourgeois

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                        (click red title below for presentation)

                           Online High Schools 

                (Download the  above .mov file to view the presentation)

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Note from Jennie –

Welcome to my blog!  I decided to utilize my blog to post my presentation for

this class as well as add some additional information and resources.  The

YouTube videos below are contain additional information and examples

about Online High Schools if you should be interested. In addition, please feel

free to browse through my blog.  Different components of my professional

and personal life are integrated into my this site.

I look forward to your thoughts and comments in the discussion board

Thanks! 

Jen

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“The question is no longer IF the internet can transform

learning in powerful ways.”

- The Web-Based Education Commission

_________________________________________________________

Example of How an Online High School Works

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“Within five years, there will be lots of blended models

such as students going to school two days a week, and

working at home three days a week.”

 

- Julie Young, the founder and president of the Florida

Virtual School, speaking about K-12 schools

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Example of Online Algebra Course

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“Online learning can be a lifeline to those who have

obstacles, such as geographical distances or physical

disabilities.”

- Paul Levinson, author, “The Soft Edge”                                                      ___________________________________

Hear from Students Attending Online High Schools

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“The data collected in this current study supports that

prediction and it is conceivable that by 2016 online

enrollments could reach between 5 and 6 million

K-12 (mostly high school) students.”

- From Sloan Consortium Report “K-12 Online

Learning – A 2008 Follow-up of the Survey

of U.S. School District Administrators”

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Virtual Schools on the  Rise

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“Almost all types and sizes of institutions show a steady

increase in the importance of online education in their

long-term strategy.”

- Sloan Consortium Study “Online Education in the

United States, 2006

______________________________________

News Story About Students Attending  Online High School

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“…by the year 2016 about one-quarter of all high school

courses will be online and that by the year 2019 about

one-half of all high school courses will be online.”

- Attributed to Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn, and

Curtis Johnson, writers of “Disrupting Class: How

Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns”

______________________________________

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By Steven Hedlund, SeafoodSource editor
3/26/2010 8:48:23 AM – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is looking at extending its plan requiring post-harvest processing on raw oysters to include all raw shellfish from the East and West coasts, according to Save Our Shellfish.

On Thursday, the organization, which represents numerous shellfish processors, growers and associations, released a statement claiming the FDA is moving forward with its plan requiring post-harvest processing on raw oysters even though the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) at its meeting in Denver earlier this month again refused to endorse the plan.

The plan, which would effectively ban the sale of raw oysters for several months a year, is designed to protect Americans who suffer from gastrointestinal illnesses and can potentially die from consuming raw oysters tainted with the Vibrio bacterium.

“The FDA appears to be intent on regulating all raw shellfish just to protect a small group of susceptible people,” said Bob Rheault, director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association and a member of Save Our Shellfish. “These immune-compromised individuals should not be eating any raw foods.”

Now the FDA is considering extending its plan to include all raw shellfish, including raw clams, from the East and West coasts, said Save Our Shellfish, citing FDA memos.

In a 15 March letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a bipartisan group of six senators and 12 congressmen, including Louisiana Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter and Mississippi Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, asked the agency to also conduct an audit of the FDA’s plan when it audits the ISSC’s Vibrio vulnificus risk management plan. The legislators are concerned that the FDA is not performing a thorough cost-benefit analysis of its plan.

In November, Landrieu, Vitter and other legislators spoke out against the plan on behalf of the Gulf Coast oyster industry. The FDA responded that it would engage with the industry, legislators and the ISSC but did not back off its plan, which is modeled after a California initiative enacted in 2003.

The U.S. oyster industry produces roughly 750 million pounds of in-shell oysters annually, two-thirds of which is produced by the Gulf Coast. Oysters from the warm-water region are known to carry the naturally occurring bacterium Vibrio vulnificus.

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WHITE OAK, Md., March 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with state health officials from Mississippi and Louisiana to notify consumers, food service operators and retailers nationwide about an outbreak of norovirus associated with oysters recently harvested from an area near Port Sulphur, La. known as Area 7. The oysters were sold or distributed nationwide.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090824/FDALOGO )

Public health agencies are warning consumers not to purchase or eat oysters from the affected area and warning retailers and food-service operators not to sell or serve them. Louisiana’s Area 7 is in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River.

The FDA was notified by state authorities that nearly a dozen consumers in Mississippi fell ill with norovirus after eating raw oysters from the affected area on March 10. Norovirus is a foodborne pathogen that can cause acute gastroenteritis in humans.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has recalled oysters harvested from Area 7 on March 6 through March 24, 2010. State health officials closed the area to harvesting on March 24 to protect the public health.

Public health officials are currently working to investigate potential sources of pollution that may have caused the area to become contaminated.

Consumers who are uncertain about the origin of oysters they have in their possession should contact the place of purchase to determine if the oysters are from the affected area. Retailers and food service operators can check the tag or labeling that should accompany all raw molluscan shellfish to verify their origin.

Eleven people reported becoming sick after eating raw oysters at a conference center in Jackson County, Miss. Test results by the Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed that the patients were infected with norovirus.

Symptoms of norovirus illness usually include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping. Sometimes people also have a low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness. The illness often begins suddenly, and the infected person may feel very sick. In most people the illness is self-limiting with symptoms lasting for one or two days.

People who have eaten raw oysters harvested from the affected area during the specified dates and have had symptoms of norovirus infection are encouraged to contact their health care professionals and local health departments.

People with weak immune systems, including those affected by AIDS, chronic alcohol abuse, liver, stomach or blood disorders, cancer, diabetes, or kidney disease and those taking certain medications for rheumatoid arthritis or cancer chemotherapy, should avoid raw oyster consumption altogether, regardless of where the oysters are harvested.

For more information on seafood safety, please visit www.cfsan.fda.gov/seafood1.html or call FDA’s Food Safety Hotline at 1-888-SAFEFOOD.

For information on Norovirus, go to: http://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/bacteriaviruses/norovirus.html

For additional information on seafood, go to: http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/types/seafood/index.html

Media Inquiries: Rita Chappelle, 301-796-4672 or 240-753-8603, rita.chappelle@fda.hhs.gov

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By The Times-Picayune

March 25, 2010, 4:53PM

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals today ordered the closure of molluscan shellfish harvesting Area 3 in St. Bernard Parish. The closure takes effect at sunset.

Virus suspected in raw oysters harvested from area in St. Bernard ParishState Health Officer Jimmy Guidry signed the closure order when the department was notified of a possible Norovirus outbreak in New Orleans. Several people became ill over the weekend after eating raw oysters harvested from Area 3.  DHH is investigating to determine whether the oysters are to blame for the outbreak.

Norovirus is a virus that causes the “stomach flu.” Effects of the virus usually begin 24 to 48 hours after exposure. Symptoms, which last for one to two days on average, can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping. Occasional symptoms may include low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and tiredness. Norovirus can be contracted several ways, including by eating food or drinking liquids contaminated by infected food handlers. Outbreaks have occurred from eating undercooked oysters harvested from contaminated waters — cooking kills the virus.

DHH has notified local oyster harvesters that work in the affected areas, as well as the Louisiana Oyster Task Force, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals strives to protect and promote health statewide and to ensure access to medical, preventive and rehabilitative services for all state citizens.

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Posted: March 25th, 2010 – 2:45am by Doug Powell

The Louisiana state Department of Health and Hospitals has closed a large section of east bank Plaquemines Parish waters to oyster fishing through at least mid-April, after 11 people in Mississippi – at a seafood conference, repeat, at a seafood conference — became sick after eating oysters believed to be traced to that area.

The Times-Picayune reports the state has also issued a recall of any oysters harvested from that area since March 6, meaning wholesalers must review their records and contact any restaurants, brokers or other buyers who bought oysters from those waters. Under Food and Drug Administration and state health guidelines, oyster dealers are required to have a recall plan in effect.

Updated: March 25, 2010 2:20 AM
Source: Associated Press

An outbreak of illnesses in Mississippi two weeks ago prompted a recall Wednesday of oysters harvested in Louisiana.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals says 11 people got sick with norovirus at a seafood conference.  One person was hospitalized but has since been released.

The recall affects oysters harvested since March 6 from Basin 4, Area 7 in Plaquemines Parish.  It applies to shucked, frozen, breaded and post-harvest processes oysters, as well as those for the half-shell market.

Cooking kills norovirus, but undercooked oysters can still carry it.

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• FDA, CDC, and States Investigating Norovirus Illnesses Linked to Oysters (fda.gov)
• Oysters Recalled in Oregon Due to Norovirus (noroblog.com)
• Norovirus Link Closed Louisiana Oyster Beds (noroblog.com)

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