In the cycle of life, all things are clearly precious. From our food to the ecosystem and to how it effects our daily lives, it is important to keep things in a balance that makes sure that the cycle of life continues propelling itself forward. But in most cases, nature has a plan for everything including both the destruction and creation of things as it was recently discovered that a bacterial strain exists with the ability to contaminate a food supply that is had made quite the presence in our lives: shellfish.
According to Fox News, it all started with oysters along the Atlantic Ocean, claiming to have discovered a critical clue in them that may lead to the understanding of why many seafood lovers and enthusiasts are getting sick from eating shellfish. For the longest time, people have been wondering why when consuming shellfish, there are common traits such as diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Within that long time, it was generally assumed by the majority of the population that some people were simple just allergic to shellfish or that it simply didn't sit well with it, but perhaps this new information can shed more light on why such things occur and perhaps it can also find a culprit behind this.
ABC News claims that the strain was discovered by Cheryl Whistler and her colleagues at the University of New Hampshire and that they were quite surprised at how widespread it was. With is full name being "Vibrio parahaemolyticus", the researchers have decided to give it a moniker that would be a lot easier to pronounce and remember: ST631. Each year, it causes an estimated 45,000 infections in the U.S. alone. A lot of research is being conducted on the strain and has even earned the partnership of Whistler and the Food and Drug Administration. Perhaps with this new discovery, thousands world wide will be able to finally enjoy shellfish without the punishing side effects.
