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Cholera cases confirmed in those who ate Oceanside area herring eggs

Mar 22, 2018 | 6:04 PM

NANAIMO — Island Health and the BC Centre for Disease Control are warning anyone who’s eaten herring eggs recently to stay hydrated and safely dispose of any remaining eggs.

Medical health officer Dr. Shannon Waters told NanaimoNewsNOW vibrio cholera, which is an intestinal infection causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, was found in those who ate herring eggs over the last week-and-a-half in the Qualicum Bay and French Creek area.

Waters said this is a new, “unique” case for B.C. since the disease isn’t common in the province and is typically found in places like Africa and Southeast Asia.

Symptoms can develop within a few hours or up to five days. Not everyone who eats the herring eggs will get sick.

“If you’re sick, one of the most dangerous things is getting dehydrated from the infection,” Waters said. Proper hygiene and hand washing is also essential to preventing the spread of the disease.

Waters said they’re currently testing to determine what strain of vibrio cholera this is, where it came from and how it came to be in coastal herring eggs.

 

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