United States
                     Environmental Protection
                     Agency	
Environmental Monitoring
Systems Laboratory
Cincinnati OH 45268
                     Research and Development
EPA/600/SR-92/072  January 1993
^ EPA        Project  Summary
                     Directory  to  Literature  on Stool
                     Shed  Viruses  and  Shellfish:
                     Illness Outbreaks  and  Virus
                     Detection  Methods
                     Fred P. Williams, Jr., and Eric A. Grab
                      The volume comprises a 16-page bib-
                     liography of technical literature on
                     stool-shed viruses and shellfish. It cov-
                     ers Illness outbreaks and virus detec-
                     tion methods.
                       This Project Summary was devel-
                     oped by EPA's Environmental Monitor-
                     ing Systems Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH,
                     to provide to investigators concerned
                     with the detection of virus-contaminated
                     shellfish a source of references to perti-
                     nent literature In this field (see Project
                     Report ordering information at back).
                      This directory was developed as part of
                     an effort to assemble and review the sci-
                     entific and technical literature relating to
                     bivalve molluscan  shellfish and human
                     stool-shed viruses. Shellfish  exposed to
                     fecally polluted waters are known to con-
                     centrate from those waters human viruses.
                     Although the uptake of these stool-shed
                     viruses is not detrimental to the exposed
                     shellfish,  the consumption of virus-con-
                     taminated shellfish by humans can cause
                     illness. Outbreaks of such shellfish-borne
                     illness occur in the United States and in
                     many other countries. One consequence
                     of the development and expansion of hu-
                     man coastal communities is that shellfish
                     habitats are becoming increasingly at risk
                     for exposure to fecally polluted waters. It
                     is thus important for investigators con-
                     cerned with the detection of contaminated
                     shellfish to have effective methods avail-
                     able for use. The aim of this directory is to
                     provide investigators,  both within and out-
                     side of the Agency, with a source  of refer-
                     ences to literature on such methods. Al-
                     though the primary focus of the directory
                     is on methods, references describing shell-
fish-borne outbreaks of viral illness have
also been included. Such references are
evidence of the public health risk associ-
ated with the consumption of contaminated
shellfish.
  The directory has been divided into four
subject areas: Shellfish-Borne Outbreaks
of Viral Illness, Methods for Recovering
Viruses from Shellfish, Use of New Virus
Assay Procedures,  and Virus & Shellfish
Miscellanea. Within the four subject areas
there are additional subdivisions. Individual
references have been multiply listed and
appear under all appropriate subject and
subdivision headings.  Every effort has
been made to provide as comprehensive
a list of references  as possible. Users of
this directory  should be aware, however,
that the listed references vary greatly in
their content.  In some references,  meth-
ods and procedures have been described
in great detail. In other references, meth-
ods and  procedures  are less well de-
scribed. The directory does not reflect an
attempt to validate the findings of any of
the authors listed. Inclusion of a particular
reference  in this directory should not be
considered an endorsement of that refer-
ence.
  A review covering much of the literature
presented in  this directory has recently
appeared in  Environmental Science &
Technology (Vol. 26, pp. 689-696, 1992)
under the title "Contamination of Shellfish
by Stool-Shed Viruses: Methods of Detec-
tion" (P.P. Williams, Jr. and G.S. Pout,
authors).
                                                                       Printed on Recycled Paper

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 FredP. Williams, Jr., and Eric A. Grab are the EPA authors. The complete report,
   entitled "Directory to Literature on Stool-Shed Viruses and Shellfish: Illness
   Outbreaks and Virus Detection Methods," will be available only from:
         Virology Branch, Mail Stop 320
         Microbiology Research Division
         Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory
         U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
         Cincinnati, OH 45268
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Center for Environmental Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268

Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300

EPA/600/SR-92/072
     BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
         EPA
   PERMIT No. G-35

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