title: [A study to assess the microbial contamination of Mya arenaria clams from the north shore of the St Lawrence River estuary, (Québec, Canada)].
abstract: The aims of the present study were to assess the microbial quality of Mya arenaria clams from the north shore of the St. Lawrence River estuary and to validate various microbial indicator microorganisms of bivalve mollusks contamination. Clams were collected from nine sites, including four harvesting sites closed by virtue of the Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program (CSSP). Six contamination indicators (fecal coliforms, somatic coliphages, F-specific coliphages, fecal streptococci, Clostridium perfringens, and Escherichia coli) and four pathogens (Campylobacter sp., Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia sp., and Salmonella sp.) were identified in the clams. Indicators sensibility, specificity and predictive values with respect to the presence of pathogens were calculated. Pathogenic microorganisms detection frequency in clams was important (92%). Globally, pathogens tend to be less frequently detected in opened harvesting sites (p = 0.086). Although the assessed indicators were not perfect, when F-specific coliphages are associated with E. coli or fecal coliforms, a good sensibility (62%-64%) and good positive predictive value (88%) with respect to the investigated pathogens are obtained.
authors.affiliation: Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, Québec, QC, Canada. benoit.levesque@inspq.qc.ca
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lévesque
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gagnon
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valentin
authors.forename: Jacques-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Cartier
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chevalier
authors.forename: Pierrette
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cardinal
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cantin
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gingras
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016785:Cryptosporidium parvum / Q000302:isolation & purification; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005872:Giardia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D049892:Mya / Q000382:microbiology*; D011792:Quebec; D045483:Rivers / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity