Federal health officials have announced a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Telelkebir infections linked to raw oysters harvested by the Little Wicomico Oyster Company from the Little Wicomico River in Virginia. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the outbreak on October 19, and the company has voluntarily recalled the oysters.
Source: CIDRAP, University of Minnesota
As of October 19, at least 27 people in 12 states have been sickened, five have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported, the CDC said. Pennsylvania has the most illnesses with eight, followed by New York with four and Virginia with three; Colorado, Indiana and Maryland have two each, and Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and New Jersey have one each. Illnesses began between May 29 and September 14, and 77% of patients interviewed reported eating raw oysters in the days before they fell ill.
Source: Marler Blog, reporting CDC outbreak data
What is being recalled, and where the oysters went
The recall covers whole, in-shell oysters harvested from the Little Wicomico River and Little Wicomico River Lower from September 18 through October 8, 2026, by Little Wicomico Oyster Company — dealer certification VA-1421-SP, the code on the shellstock tag. The company has stopped harvesting from the affected area, contacted its customers and is cooperating with officials. The Virginia Department of Health closed the Little Wicomico River harvest area on October 9 as a precaution. The recalled oysters were distributed to restaurants and retailers in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia, and in Washington, D.C., and may have been distributed further.
Source: Food Safety News, reporting FDA and CDC alerts
The FDA is advising restaurants and food retailers not to serve or sell the recalled oysters, and consumers not to eat them; holders should throw them away or contact their distributor for destruction. In Georgia, the state Department of Agriculture says Publix sold the recalled oysters as “James River Oysters” from September 27 through October 14. Oysters harvested from other Virginia growing areas are not part of this recall, the CDC said.
Source: Virginia Department of Health
Two different illness counts
What is solid
- CDC and FDA count 27 confirmed Salmonella Telelkebir illnesses in 12 states as of October 19, with five hospitalizations and no deaths.
- The recalled oysters are Little Wicomico Oyster Company oysters (VA-1421-SP) harvested from the Little Wicomico River from September 18 to October 8; the harvest area was closed on October 9.
- Pennsylvania officials sampled oysters at a distributor that supplied restaurants where sick people ate, and one sample from the Little Wicomico River tested positive for Salmonella.
What is only claimed
- Virginia's health department counts a broader total of 53 people in 18 states sick after eating raw oysters, with illnesses running to September 21; analysts say the CDC's 27 are a genomic subgroup of that wider count. The two totals have not been reconciled in a single official breakdown.
- Every confirmed illness began before the September 18 start of the recall harvest window, and whole-genome sequencing to confirm whether the positive oyster sample matches the outbreak strain is still pending — so the exact link between the recalled harvest dates and the illnesses is not yet settled.
Salmonella illness usually brings diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps starting six hours to six days after exposure. Anyone who ate raw oysters in the affected states and develops a fever above 102°F with diarrhea, diarrhea lasting more than two days, bloody diarrhea, severe vomiting or signs of dehydration should contact a doctor, health officials advise. Diners can ask a restaurant or seafood counter to check the shellstock tag for the harvester, harvest area and harvest date before eating raw oysters.