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In a major breakthrough in shellfish management and disease prevention, researchers have discovered a new method to detect a bacterium that has contaminated New England oyster beds and sickened consumers who ate the contaminated shellfish. The new patent-pending detection method is a significant advance in efforts to identify shellfish harboring disease-carrying strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. This strain is the most common bacterial infection acquired from seafood in the world. There are an estimated 35,000 cases each year in the U.S. In recent years, there has been an increase in the incidence of shellfish contamination, which has caused costly recalls of shellfish and shellfish bed closures in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
The new detection platform will provide rapid, and more importantly, specific quantification of the invasive strain. It is available for immediate use, and can benefit researchers and managers, food inspectors, wholesalers, and retailers. It could form the basis for a diagnostic test for widespread use in both environmental detection and clinical diagnosis.Image credit: NH Sea Grant
