Posted: November 24th, 2010 - 7:27am by Doug Powell

Liza Cabell says she'll never forget how sick she felt after getting food poisoning.

"I had food poisoning years and years ago, I think it was some bad crabs I ate", says Cabell.

CBS 6 reports that now, at the start of the holiday season, the Virgina Department of Health is warning doctors to be on the lookout for a foodborne illness found in certain raw shellfish.

"We're concerned about a bacterial infection called Vibriosis", says Seth Levine, Virginia Department of Health Epidemiologist.

One way to protect yourself from getting the illness is cooking shellfish to a temperature of 145 degrees. That will kill the bacteria.

So, should you or your loved ones avoid eating shellfish this holiday season?

"No, I wouldn't necessarily say that", says Levine, but he warns people with a high risk of developing an infection, or with liver disease to avoid undercooked or raw shellfish.