More Than 80 People Attend LA Times Food Event, Get Violently Ill

More than 80 attendees of a recent Los Angeles Times event ended up violently ill, and officials suspect a norovirus outbreak. Less than 24 hours after the event, an annual gathering celebrating the newspaper's list of the city's 101 best restaurants, the diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting began, according to attendees who talked about their experiences to LA Taco. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health launched an investigation, and officials believe the cause of the symptoms was norovirus, a common and unpleasant gastrointestinal ailment, likely linked to raw oysters served at the event, the Times reports.

The oysters, harvested from British Columbia, sourced by Santa Monica Seafood, and supplied to the event by Fanny Bay Oysters, have since been recalled. They were also sold under different brand names; complete information about the recall can be read here and here. The affected oysters were also supplied to LA-area restaurants, and illnesses were also linked to those eateries, USA Today reports. Norovirus is easily spread when an infected person prepares food and someone then eats it, ingesting tiny particles of feces or vomit in the process. (Oysters can also be contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, which can lead to illness or death.)