Infectious outbreaks associated with bivalve shellfish consumption: a worldwide perspective.
Outbreaks of shellfish-associated infection have been reported for more than a century. Since the early 1970s, the global consumption of shellfish has increased considerably--and with it, the reports of outbreaks of infection. Most of these reports have originated from the United States, but Europe and, to a lesser extent, Asia and Australia have also been represented. The majority of outbreaks have been linked to oysters, followed by clams and mussels. Hepatitis A virus caused the largest ever shellfish-associated outbreak, but caliciviruses have caused the highest number of outbreaks; Vibrio species lead the list of bacterial pathogens. The prognosis of shellfish-associated infections is generally good, except for outbreaks of Vibrio vulnificus infection, which have a mortality rate of up to 50% in vulnerable people. Conventional and molecular techniques should be applied to better identify the causative agents, thereby enabling more-targeted control measures in growing, harvesting, and shipping bivalves.
D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005506:Food Contamination; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D017747:Seafood; D012758:Shellfish / Q000382:microbiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology