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 ------- 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 ------- |