France: oyster farms at risk for gastroenteritis

An epidemic of gastroenteritis threatens to bring oyster farms on the north-western coast of France to their knees. Health authorities have banned fishing and the sale of oysters in the bay around Mont-Saint-Michel and other breeding areas until further notice, an area divided between Brittany and Normandy. The Guardian reports it.
The ban was decided after the discovery of 'norovirus', a bacterium of gastroenteritis in molluscs and is the fifth after being announced since mid-December.
Farmers blame the spread of the virus for pollution along the coast due to poor wastewater treatment and asked local authorities to investigate the causes.
According to the regional producers' committee, almost half of the oyster farms in the southern Brittany region - 150 out of a total of 330 - are affected by the bans.