the French were horrified to learn last week that their care-free raw oystering lifestyle had finally hit the rocks. 40 to 100 percent of oysters aged 12 to 18 months have died this summer in all but one of the regions breeding beds.

Basically the randy little guys have been devoting so much time and energy to growing their sexual organs, they ignored their immune systems.

the young oysters found themselves with a scorching case of Oyster Herpesvirus type 1, or OsHV-1. Unfortunately for the oysters, this strain is fatal, rather than just uncomfortable and embarrassing.