The diŠerences of accumulation and elimination of paralytic shellˆsh toxins among oyster Crassostrea gigas, scallop Patinopectem yessoensis and mussel Mytillus edulis were investigated in relation to the density of Alexandrium tamarense in Kure Bay, the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. The rates of elimination of the toxins diŠered markedly from species to species. In the absence of the causative plankton, the oyster eliminated the toxin rapidly which became less than the detectable level after two weeks, and the toxin in the mussel became nondetectable after one month. However, the scallop retained a fairly high level of toxin even after three months. The maximum toxicity level of oyster was lower than that of scallop and mussel. The toxin compositions of oyster, scallop and mussel were analyzed by means of high-performance liquid chromatography. The toxin compositions were diŠerent among the species. The ratios of potent carbamate toxins GTX1 and GTX4 in scallop and mussel were higher than those in oyster, and scallop contained higher proportions of GTX2 and neoSTX which were not easily metabolized or eliminated. These results suggest that the diŠerences of the toxin compositions among bivalves aŠect the toxicity level and the rates of elimination.
In July 1996, four outbreaks of gastroenteritis after traveling to Taiwan occurred in Hiroshima, Kochi and Akita Prefectures and Yokohama City and heat-stable enterotoxin (ST)-producing Escherichia coli 0169: H41 was isolated from the feces of patients. Seven E. coli isolates from the four outbreaks were of the same serovar producing ST and showing the same plasmid profiles with 97 kb plasmid DNA, and they were identical in RAPD profiles as well as in PFGE restriction fragment patterns except for 1 Hiroshima strain, suggesting that the four outbreaks were due to common meals served at a restaurant in Taiwan.
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