Summary
Noroviruses
are the most common viral agents of acute gastroenteritis in humans
and are often associated with the consumption of either fresh or
undercooked live bivalve molluscs. The aim of the study was to evaluate
the efficacy of the water depuration systems in the presence of
Norovirus contamination A total of 96 shellfish samples was examined
by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, as follows:
58 mussel samples (Mytilus galloprovincialis), 35 Manila
clam samples (Tapes decussatus) and 3 Pacific oyster samples
(Crassostrea gigas). Of these, 67 were collected before and
29 following depuration. Viral RNA was detected in one of the 67
non-depurated samples examined (1.5%; 95% confidence interval: 0.36-7.92%)
and in one of the 29 depurated samples (3.4%; 95% confidence interval:
0.82-17.22%). There were no statistically significant differences
between depurated and non-depurated samples which indicated that
the purifying systems in place were not able to remove Norovirus
contamination from the live bivalve molluscs.
Keywords
Bivalve
mollusc, Depuration, Italy, Mollusc, Norovirus, Norwalk, Public
health, Virus. |