Skip to main content
PMC home page
Applied Microbiology logoLink to Applied Microbiology
. 1968 Dec;16(12):1865–1871. doi: 10.1128/am.16.12.1865-1871.1968

Viral Depuration by Assaying Individual Shellfish1

H R Seraichekas 1, D A Brashear 1, J A Barnick 1, P F Carey 1, O C Liu 1
PMCID: PMC547785  PMID: 4302284

Abstract

A study was carried out to further evaluate the practicability of viral depuration by assaying individual shellfish. The Northern quahaug and a strain of the type 1 attenuated poliovirus were used as the working model. Two types of depuration systems were employed: the small experimental tanks and a pilot-size tank with a capacity of approximately 24 bushels (836 liters) of shellfish. Volumes of the individual shellfish samples were found uniform throughout the experiments when a prior selection for the weight of the shellfish was made. There was also no significant difference in volumes of the individual samples during the course of depuration (24 to 96 hr). Under controlled hydrographic conditions, however, the uptake of virus in individual shellfish varied considerably. In general, the individual variability reached 10- to 100-fold. This wide variation would explain the variability of viral contents obtained in pooled samples during depuration as reported previously. During a later phase of depuration, although a great majority of shellfish were free of the virus, a few still harbored minimal amounts of contaminants. The presence of virus in some of the shellfish after various periods of depuration would, theoretically, be obscured by the pooling of the sampled shellfish. Further examination of the negative samples by assaying larger quantities than those routinely used revealed that a few still contained virus. To simulate naturally polluted shellfish as closely as technically possible, shellfish were polluted with minimal amounts of virus. The shellfish were cleansed more rapidly by the depuration process than were those polluted with more virus. Since the naturally polluted shellfish were shown to contain less virus than those studied in the laboratory, it is anticipated that the former type of shellfish may be cleansed more readily by this process within a reasonable period of time. Justification for a field trial of depuration in this country is presented.

Full text

PDF
1865

Images in this article

1867Fig. 1
on p.1867

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. DOUGHERTY W. J., ALTMAN R. Viral hepatitis in New Jersey 1960-1961. Am J Med. 1962 May;32:704–716. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(62)90160-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. GRADY G. F., CHALMERS T. C. VIRAL HEPATITIS IN A GROUP OF BOSTON HOSPITALS. II. A PROSPECTICE CONTROLLED EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDY. N Engl J Med. 1965 Apr 1;272:662–666. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196504012721303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. HEDSTROEM C. E., LYCKE E. AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON OYSTERS AS VIRUS CARRIERS. Am J Hyg. 1964 Mar;79:134–142. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a120369. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Liu O. C., Seraichekas H. R., Murphy B. L. Fate of poliovirus in northern quahaugs. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1966 Feb;121(2):601–607. doi: 10.3181/00379727-121-30841. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Liu O. C., Seraichekas H. R., Murphy B. L. Viral depuration of the Northern quahaug. Appl Microbiol. 1967 Mar;15(2):307–315. doi: 10.1128/am.15.2.307-315.1967. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Liu O. C., Seraichekas H. R., Murphy B. L. Viral pollution of shellfish. 1. Some basic facts of uptake. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1966 Nov;123(2):481–487. doi: 10.3181/00379727-123-31520. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. MASON J. O., McLEAN W. R. Infectious hepatitis traced to the consumption of raw oysters. An epidemiologic study. Am J Hyg. 1962 Jan;75:90–111. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a120238. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. METCALF T. G., STILES W. C. THE ACCUMULATION OF ENTERIC VIRUSES BY THE OYSTER, CRASSOSTREA VIRGINICA. J Infect Dis. 1965 Feb;115:68–76. doi: 10.1093/infdis/115.1.68. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Poon C. P. Studies on the instantaneous death of airborne Escherichia coli. Am J Epidemiol. 1966 Jul;84(1):1–9. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a120613. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. ROOS B. Hepatitepidemi, spridd genom ostron. Sven Lakartidn. 1956 Apr 20;53(16):989–1003. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES