Health Officer Update: 7-OH, paralytic shellfish poisoning, and Ebola
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Dr. Herbie Duber is the health officer for Kitsap Public Health District. In addition to his work in public health, Dr. Duber serves as a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington and is an attending physician at UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Hello and welcome to my July Health Officer Update.
This month, I will focus on health risks from concentrated kratom products, lethal levels of paralytic shellfish poison in Hood Canal, and updates from the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
Kratom & 7-OH
Kratom products in flashy packaging are popping up in many local stores. It’s important to understand what these products are and how they could affect your health.
Kratom is a plant found in southeast Asia that has been used for a very long time in traditional medicine – particularly in Indonesia. In low doses, Kratom can act as a stimulant. In high doses, it can act as a sedative.
One compound that occurs in small amounts naturally in the kratom leaf is 7-hydroxymitragynine, commonly called 7-OH.
7-OH products are sold in just about every convenience store that you can find. When 7-OH is concentrated into products like gummies, pills, tonics, and vapes, it is significantly stronger – and more dangerous – than the kratom leaf itself.
7-OH effects our bodies in the same way as opioids like heroin and fentanyl. Too much 7-OH can stop your breathing. Like other opioids, 7-OH effects can be reversed with naloxone (Narcan).
From 2015 to 2025, reports of exposure to kratom increased by 1,200%, reaching record levels in 2025.
Serious health problems, including hospitalizations related to concentrated kratom products, are also on the rise. While deaths remain rare, there has been an increase in deaths among people using 7-OH products.
A colleague of mine recently treated a young man whose heart had stopped beating after trying to use 7-OH to relieve pain from a dental surgery. This is just one medical case out of many that has happened in Washington state from these products.
As of January 2026, 30 states regulate kratom. Washington state does not. Some Washington cities (like Spokane and Othello) have taken action to regulate kratom products.
Fortunately, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) plans to classify high amounts of 7-OH as a Schedule I Drug. This is a huge step forward. I support this action and others that prevent the sale and distribution of this highly concentrated and synthetic product that has no known medicinal purposes.
Paralytic shellfish poisoning
I want to remind everyone that the Hood Canal remains closed to shellfish harvesting due to tests showing lethal levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).
While harvesting shellfish is a popular pastime for many Puget Sound families, PSP is not something to be taken lightly.
PSP is a toxin produced by certain types of algae blooms. Shellfish like clams, mussels, oysters, geoduck and scallops concentrate the toxin in their bodies as they filter food out of the water. People can become extremely sick and even die after eating shellfish with high levels of PSP.
Common symptoms of PSP include numbness or tingling. In severe cases, PSP can cause breathing problems and paralysis. People have died from PSP in as little as 30 minutes.
Crabs are not as impacted by PSP, but you should be careful to throw away the gooey “crab butter” in the middle of crabs, which can have higher concentrations of PSP.
I encourage everyone to look at the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) shellfish safety map before harvesting anywhere in the state. DOH coordinates with our Water Pollution Identification and Correction program to regularly sample shellfish from around Kitsap County and test them for toxins. Always check the map before you harvest shellfish.
Ebola
As of July 8, there were 1,792 confirmed cases of Ebola and 625 confirmed deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Uganda had reported 20 confirmed cases and two deaths. Most of the cases in Uganda have been linked to traveling to the DRC.
Traveler monitoring remains in effect across the United States, including here in Kitsap. Our team is doing a fantastic job monitoring returning travelers.
I want to emphasize that there have been no cases of Ebola linked to this outbreak in the United States. Risk to people who live in the United States remains extremely low.
Learn more and keep in touch
You can watch my full report to the Kitsap Public Health Board by clicking on the video below or on Vimeo. You can read past Health Officer Updates on our blog.
Have a question or want to get in touch? Email pio@kitsappublichealth.org.
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