Dozens of people get the stomach flu at expensive LA Times restaurant event

Scores of diners hoping to sample the best food in Southern California ended up vomiting and fighting through severe pain thanks to a norovirus outbreak.

Approximately 80 people who attended the Los Angeles Times' 101 Best Restaurants festival earlier in December were infected with the norovirus, which is commonly called the stomach flu.

Some oysters and Manila clams were recalled across the US due to possible norovirus contamination a few weeks after the festival.

Mark Kapczynski and his wife spoke to CBS News about their experience at the festival.

"It was pretty painful, probably the most painful experience I have ever had," he told the broadcaster.

He is still recovering from the malady, and was in disbelief that the illness had come from the restaurant showcase.

Kapczynski said that the "restaurants are too good, couldn't possibly be [the 101 event]."

"We visited Providence, which I mean they are a world-class restaurant serving fresh oysters and clams with different sauces and I ended up having two plates very quickly," Kapczynski said.

He said he began to feel bloated immediately after he ate the oysters, and that his symptoms worsened the next day. Since then, he said the abdomen pain and the chills he's been experiencing have made it hard to find comfort or rest.

The LA Department of Health is investigating the outbreak, and have thus far found 80 cases, including Kapczynski's.

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An emergency room doctor in LA, Dr Ali Jamehdor, told CBS News that oysters are hitting people especially hard, worse than a typical stomach bug.

He attributed the more severe symptoms to "a bug called vibrio."

"It's a very specific bacteria that's specific to oysters and causes an illness that hits people very, very hard," he told CBS News.

Vibrio and the norovirus have similar symptoms and can both affect oysters.

Providence told investigators that the oysters used at the festival were from farms near Vancouver, British Columbia, and that health inspectors had signed off on all of their serving and handling requirements for event.

The restaurant released a statement saying that if norovirus is the cause of the illnesses, Providence would not have been able to detect it before serving its oysters.

"The nature of norovirus is such that it would be undetectable to the vendor, the restaurant or the health inspectors who were onsite given that norovirus does not affect the appearance, odor or flavor of the shellfish," the restaurant said in a statement.

Ten days after the event, the California Department of Public Health issued a statewide alert warning that Canadian oysters could potentially make diners sick.

A recall on some oysters and manila clams due to norovirus presence was announced earlier this week. The shellfish were distributed to restaurants and retailers in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Washington, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

The affected seafood was harvested by Rudy's Shellfish between November 15 and December 11 from the Pickering Passage growing area of Washington state.

It is unclear if the recalled seafood has caused anyone to fall ill. The recalled oysters are not the same as the oysters that affected the Los Angeles event, as those came from Canada and not Pickering Passage.