RI closes South Kingstown pond to shellfishing after seven people sickened

Potters Pond in South Kingstown has been closed to shellfishing after seven people got sick last month from easting raw shellfish taken from the area.

A South Kingstown pond has been closed to shellfishing after seven folks received sick from consuming uncooked shellfish.

Potters Pond shall be closed till additional discover, the Rhode Island Division of Well being and the Rhode Island Division of Environmental Administration mentioned Saturday.

The Well being Division has contacted all industrial shellfishermen who harvested from the pond to make sure that shellfish harvested from the realm isn’t bought at eating places and markets.

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It’s additionally telling leisure shellfishermen who harvested shellfish between Sept. 9 and Sept. 11 to both discard their catch or keep away from consuming the shellfish uncooked or undercooked. The pond had been closed earlier than Sept. 9 due to heavy rain.

The state says the closure outcomes from an investigation that linked human sicknesses to shellfish harvested within the space. Seven folks received sick between Aug. 11 and 19 after consuming uncooked shellfish taken from the pond.

The Well being Division collected samples from the pond and one among them examined constructive for Campylobacter lari, a kind of micro organism. Two of the individuals who received sick examined constructive for Campylobacter Jejuni, which is a unique sort of Campylobacter, in response to the Well being Division, however the take a look at confirmed the presence of Campylobacter.