Shellfish is a major component of global seafood production. Specific items include shrimp, lobsters, oysters, mussels, scallops, clams, crabs, krill, crayfish, squid, cuttlefish, snails, abalone, and others. Shellfish, in general, contain appreciable quantities of digestible proteins, essential amino acids, bioactive peptides, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, astaxanthin and other carotenoids, vitamin B12 and other vitamins, minerals, including copper, zinc, inorganic phosphate, sodium, potassium, selenium, iodine, and also other nutrients, which offer a variety of health benefits to the consumer. Although shellfish are generally safe for consumption, their exposure to diverse habitats, the filter feeding nature of shellfish such as oysters, clams, and mussels, and unhealthy farming and handling practices may occasionally entail health risks because of possible presence of various hazards. These hazards include pathogenic organisms, parasites, biotoxins, industrial and environmental pollutants, heavy metals, process-related additives such as antibiotics and bisulfite, and also presence of allergy-causing compounds in their bodies. Most of the hazards can be addressed by appropriate preventive measures at various stages of harvesting, farming, processing, storage, distribution, and consumption. Furthermore, consumer safety of shellfish and other seafood items is strictly monitored by international, governmental, and local public health organizations. This article highlights the nutritional value and health benefits of shellfish items and points out the various control measures to safeguard consumer safety with respect to the products.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1541-4337.12312

Shellfish: nutritive value, health benefits, and consumer safety.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important infection in humans in EU/EEA countries, and over the last 10 years more than 21,000 acute clinical cases with 28 fatalities have been notified with an overall 10-fold increase in reported HEV cases; the majority (80%) of cases were reported from France, Germany and the UK. However, as infection in humans is not notifiable in all Member States, and surveillance differs between countries, the number of reported cases is not comparable and the true number of cases would probably be higher. Food-borne transmission of HEV appears to be a major route in Europe; pigs and wild boars are the main source of HEV. Outbreaks and sporadic cases have been identified in immune-competent persons as well as in recognised risk groups such as those with pre-existing liver damage, immunosuppressive illness or receiving immunosuppressive treatments. The opinion reviews current methods for the detection, identification, characterisation and tracing of HEV in food-producing animals and foods, reviews literature on HEV reservoirs and food-borne pathways, examines information on the epidemiology of HEV and its occurrence and persistence in foods, and investigates possible control measures along the food chain. Presently, the only efficient control option for HEV infection from consumption of meat, liver and products derived from animal reservoirs is sufficient heat treatment. The development of validated quantitative and qualitative detection methods, including infectivity assays and consensus molecular typing protocols, is required for the development of quantitative microbial risk assessments and efficient control measures. More research on the epidemiology and control of HEV in pig herds is required in order to minimise the proportion of pigs that remain viraemic or carry high levels of virus in intestinal contents at the time of slaughter. Consumption of raw pig, wild boar and deer meat products should be avoided.

/pdf/public-health-risks-associated-with-hepatitis-e-virus-hev-as-38bs64c85l.pdf

Public health risks associated with hepatitis E virus (HEV) as a food‐borne pathogen

Shellfish samples (n = 384) from production areas, water samples from the same areas (n = 39) and from nearby sewage discharge points (n = 29) were analyzed for hepatitis E virus (HEV) by real-time and nested RT-PCR. Ten shellfish samples (2.6%) and five seawater samples (12.8%) tested positive for HEV; all characterized strains were G3 and showed high degree of sequence identity. An integrated surveillance in seafood and waters is relevant to reduce the risk of shellfish-associated illnesses.

First Detection of Hepatitis E Virus in Shellfish and in Seawater from Production Areas in Southern Italy.

Summary
Galicia (NW Spain) has 1,490 km of coastline, and its particular topography, characterized by the presence of fiord-like inlets, called rias, with an important primary production, make this region very favourable for shellfish growth and culture. In fact, Galicia is one of the most important mussel producers in the world. Due to the proximity to cities and villages, and the anthropogenic activities in these estuaries, and despite the routinely official controls of the bivalve harvesting areas, contamination with material of faecal origin is sometimes possible but, whereas current regulation based on Escherichia coli as indicator microorganism has been revealed as useful for bacterial contaminants, this is not the case for enteric viruses. The aim of this review is to offer a picture on the situation of different harvesting areas in Galicia from a virological standpoint. A recompilation of results obtained in the last 20 years is presented, including not only the data for the well known agents norovirus (NoV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV), but also data on emerging viral hazards, including sapovirus (SaV), hepatitis E virus (HEV) and aichivirus (AiV). Epidemiological differences related to diverse characteristics of the harvesting areas, viral genotype distribution, or epidemiological links between environmental and clinical strains will be also presented and discussed. The presentation of these historical data all together could be useful for future decisions by competent authorities for a better management of shellfish growing areas.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jam.13614

An overview of 20 years of studies on the prevalence of human enteric viruses in shellfish from Galicia, Spain.

The hepatitis E virus (HEV) affects almost 20 million individuals annually, causing approximately 3.3 million acute liver injuries, 56,600 deaths, and huge healthcare-associated economic losses. Shellfish produced close to urban and livestock areas can bioaccumulate this virus and transmit it to the human population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of HEV in molluscan shellfish, in order to deepen the knowledge about HEV prevalence in Galicia (northwestern Spain), and to investigate this as a possible route of HEV transmission to humans. A total of 168 shellfish samples was obtained from two different Galician rias (Ria de Ares-Betanzos and Ria de Vigo). The samples were analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). RT-nested PCR and sequencing were used for further genotyping and phylogenetic analysis of positive samples. HEV was detected in 41 (24.4%) samples, at quantification levels ranging from non-quantifiable (<102 copies of the RNA genome (RNAc)/g tissue) to 1.1 × 105 RNAc/g tissue. Phylogenetic analysis based on the open reading frame (ORF)2 region showed that all sequenced isolates belonged to genotype 3, and were closely related to strains of sub-genotype e, which is of swine origin. The obtained results demonstrate a significant prevalence of HEV in bivalve molluscs from Galician rias, reinforcing the hypothesis that shellfish may be a potential route for HEV transmission to humans.

https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/11/7/618/pdf

Detection of Hepatitis E Virus in Shellfish Harvesting Areas from Galicia (Northwestern Spain)

Global bivalve production, marketing and safety issues.

Evaluation of the sanitary status of the Dutch shellfish production waters over a 7 year period.

Detection and genotyping of norovirus from clinical and shellfish samples: epidemiological implications.

In managing water quality in catchments and estuaries, faecal contamination is typically assessed using microbial indicators, such as faecal coliform bacteria. Bacteriological indicators however cannot be used to distinguish whether the faecal contamination has been derived from human or animal sources. The ability to track contamination and distinguish between sources is particularly important where water is used for potable supply, recreational purposes and where commercial aquaculture for human consumption is undertaken. Various chemicals associated with human metabolism and activities which are present in faecal material (such as faecal sterol, pharmaceutical and fluorescent whitening compounds present in wastewaters) can be utilized to identify a human signal and therefore whether the faecal contamination in water is likely to have been derived from human sources. This paper demonstrates an approach and methodology for future work using a combination of these methods to distinguish human contaminant sources in stormwater runoff in an estuary where aquaculture is practised.

Monitoring and tracking contaminant sources in catchments and estuaries

First report on the detection of yessotoxin from Gonyaulax spinifera in the Benguela current upwelling system.

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