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That’s not love giving you the tingly lips

Marine biotoxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) have been detected at concentrations above the safe level in shellfish samples collected from Whatcom County on September 25. As a result, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has closed all Whatcom County beaches to the recreational harvest of shellfish. Commercially harvested shellfish are sampled separately and products on the market should be safe to eat.

Warning signs have been posted at high use public beaches, warning people not to collect shellfish. The closure includes clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and other species of molluscan shellfish. Crab is not included in the closure, but the “crab butter” should be discarded, and only the meat should be eaten.

Marine biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing and can be life-threatening. People can become ill from eating shellfish contaminated with the naturally occurring marine algae that contains toxins that are harmful to humans. Symptoms of PSP can appear within minutes or hours and usually begins with tingling lips and tongue moving to the hands and feet followed by difficulty breathing, and potentially death. Any one experiencing these symptoms should contact a health care provider. For extreme reactions call 911.

In most cases the algae that contain the toxins cannot be seen, and must be detected using laboratory testing. Therefore, recreational shellfish harvesters should check the DOH website at www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/sf/biotoxin.htm or call the DOH Biotoxin Hotline at 800/562-5632 before harvesting shellfish anywhere in Washington state. Whatcom County Health department staff will collect additional samples in two weeks to determine if local beaches may be opened for recreational shellfish harvesting.