A hepatitis A outbreak linked to frozen black clams from Ecuador has now sickened 37 people, and 30 of them have been hospitalized, according to the latest update from the CDC and FDA.
The product at the center of the investigation is La Serranita brand concha negra, which translates to black shell. It is frozen black clam meat sold in 16 ounce plastic packages and commonly used in ceviche, a dish of raw fish or shellfish “cooked” in lime or lemon juice instead of heat. Because the citrus does not kill viruses the way cooking does, raw shellfish dishes like ceviche carry a higher risk when the seafood is contaminated.
Hepatitis A is a highly contagious virus that attacks the liver. It usually spreads when someone eats food or drinks water contaminated with the virus, or through close contact with an infected person. Symptoms can include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, dark urine, pale stool and jaundice, which is when the skin and the whites of the eyes turn yellow. People typically get sick anywhere from 15 to 50 days after exposure, and young children often show no symptoms at all, which makes the virus easy to pass along without knowing it.
Investigators interviewed patients about what they ate in the weeks before they got sick. Seventy-seven percent said they had eaten ceviche, 76 percent reported eating raw or undercooked shellfish, and 47 percent specifically named raw or undercooked black clams.
This hepatitis A outbreak is not brand new. The FDA first warned about La Serranita concha negra in April, when the clams were known to have reached restaurants and stores in New York and New Jersey. The warning has since expanded to include Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and the FDA says the product may have been distributed even further. Dealers in New York and New Jersey have recalled it.
The first illnesses date back to July 2025, and the most recent case began in June of this year. That long timeline is part of the problem. Frozen clams can sit in a restaurant or home freezer for months, and freezing does not kill hepatitis A. Something bought in the spring could still be in someone’s freezer today.
Health officials are telling people not to eat, sell or serve La Serranita concha negra, and not to try to cook it to make it safe. Throw it away or return it. Restaurants and stores should toss it or contact their distributor to have it destroyed. Because the virus can survive on surfaces for weeks, anything that touched the product, including containers, cutting boards and countertops, should be cleaned and sanitized.
Anyone who ate these clams recently or has symptoms of hepatitis A should contact a doctor. Hepatitis A is preventable with a vaccine, and getting vaccinated soon after exposure can help keep someone from getting sick.
