Oysters can get herpes? In San Diego, it's more likely than you think

SAN DIEGO (KGTV)— It's been a hot summer.

According to the National Weather Service , even the water in San Diego Bay reached up to 75 degrees on Tuesday.

Scripps Oceanography scientists recently discovered that these heat waves accelerate a deadly herpes virus in none other than some of San Diego's favorite seafood- oysters.

“So, you're going to see they're all here; these are the Pacific Oysters. And they just came in this morning,” said Ky Phan, one of the owners of Crab Hut, as she showed the inside of the walk-in freezer.

When Ky Phan started her family’s seafood business, she wanted to support the local industry.

“I mean, we were able to work with aqua farms here in San Diego. But then the climate and the weather here, it's a little bit hotter,” said Phan.

Now, she gets her live oysters from British Columbia.

“It's just the stability of the waters in British Columbia, and we're working with the farms up there. We're able to get more of a consistent product and a more seasonal product, too,” said Phan.

More importantly, the water is colder.

That's not the case here in San Diego.

Scripps Oceanography recently worked on a study that shows warmer water means a higher risk for herpes.

“And when we expose oysters to that virus at these higher temperatures that are very commonly experienced in San Diego bay throughout, basically, over half of the year, they are susceptible to get infected and die from the virus,” said Emily Kunselman, the lead author of the study.

Ostreid herpesvirus has caused mass oyster mortality in San Diego in 2018 and 2020.

Significant amounts of the virus have not been detected since, and it's not harmful to humans.

But with record-breaking temperatures in the county this summer, Scripps researchers are closely monitoring the Pacific oysters and their more resistant wild counterparts.

“So wild oysters don't seem to harbor this virus, or if they do, it's at really, really low levels that have not been detectable. And so our goal for the next few years is to apply for grant money to work on experiments that look at how resistant the wild oysters actually are against this virus,” said Kunselman.

As for Phan, she’ll continue using her trusted sources.

“We love what we do, and we actually love to eat this food as well. We just try to get the best quality products,” said Phan.