Hepatitis A Virus Detection in Oysters (Crassostrea gigas) in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, by Reverse Transcription–Polymerase Chain Reaction

Abstract

Shellfish are readily contaminated with viruses present in water containing sewage because of the concentration effect of filter feeding. Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is the main cause of acute hepatitis worldwide and may lead to severe illness or even death. It is transmitted through fecal and oral routes and causes widespread endemic and asymptomatic infections in young children. Here we describe a method for the detection of HAV RNA in shellfish involving the extraction of total RNA from oyster meat followed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Virus recovery from oyster extracts artificially seeded with HAV strain HM 175 was examined by RT-PCR. The minimum detection limit was 3.3 focus-forming units of HAV, and the recovery rate was 75.7%. This method was used to assess the viral contamination of four shellfish beds in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, over a 1-year period. Six (22%) of 27 samples collected in autumn and winter from one shellfish bed tested positive for HAV.

Occurrence of potentially pathogenic Vibrio in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and waters from bivalve mollusk cultivations in the South Bay of Santa Catarina

“…Roberta Juliano Ramos [1] , Letícia Adélia Miotto [1] , Marília Miotto [1] , Nelson Silveira Junior [2] , Andréia Cirolini [1] , Helen Silvestre da Silva [1] , Dália dos Prazeres Rodrigues [3] and Cleide Rosana Werneck Vieira [1] [1]. Laboratório de Microbiologia de Alimentos, Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC.…”

“…In Brazil, the production of bivalve shellfi sh occurs primarily in the Southern region of the State of Santa Catarina because of the excellent geographical conditions of this area for the cultivation of marine organisms, such as the presence of a large number of bays, which facilitates the establishment of marine farms 1,2 . In 2011, approximately 18.3 tons of shellfi sh were sold in the State of Santa Catarina, and the largest production of oysters (Crassostrea gigas) occurred at marine farms located in the South Bay near the Island of Santa Catarina.…”

Ocurrence of Vibrio spp., positive coagulase staphylococci and enteric bacteria in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) harvested in the south bay of Santa Catarina island, Brazil

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Ocurrence of Vibrio spp., positive coagulase staphylococci and enteric bacteria in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) harvested in the south bay of Santa Catarina island, Brazil

IntroductionIn Brazil, bivalve mollusks production takes place mainly in Santa Catarina State, south Brazil, due to the excellent geographical conditions of this area for marine organism cultures, such as the presence of a large number of bays facilitating the establishment of mollusk farms (COELHO et al, 2003;CORRÊA et al, 2007;OLIVEIRA NETO, 2005). In 2007, about 11.000 t of mollusks were commercialized in Santa Catarina State, the largest producing region of oysters (Crassostrea gigas).

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Application of an Ultracentrifugation-based Method for Detection of Feline Calicivirus (a Norovirus Surrogate) in Experimentally Contaminated Delicatessen Meat Samples

“…Nowadays, several extraction methods are available for use in detection of NoV and HAV in shellfish and fruits (Rzeżutka et al 2005(Rzeżutka et al , 2006Cromeans et al 1997;Croci et al 1999;Kingsley and Richards 2001;Kurdziel et al 2001;Dubios et al 2002;Coelho et al 2003;Le Guyader et al 2004). Most of them efficiently concentrate different types of viruses; however, their usefulness in application to other food types has not been fully investigated.…”