We searched Medline for English language articles using the search terms “seafood”, “infection”, “bacteria”, and “virus”, and the specific organisms covered in this review between 1980 and 2003. Articles reporting infections or outbreaks related to seafood consumption were selected. Cited references in the selected articles were also screened and pertinent articles retrieved.
ReviewInfections related to the ingestion of seafood Part I: viral and bacterial infections
Section snippets
Microbiology
The family Calicividae is comprised of four antigenically and genetically diverse groups of viruses that also differ in their animal host preference. The viruses contain single-strand RNA with a positive polarity. The exterior surface of the virions is composed of a single major protein that forms the capsid and appears as 32 cup-shaped depressions on the surface showing an icosahedral symmetry on microscopy. Human caliciviruses have been grouped into two genera: norovirus and sapovirus.
Microbiology
Vibrionaceae are Gram-negative, comma shaped or straight rods that are motile in liquid media (figure 3A and 3B).51 They are oxidase-positive facultative anaerobes that ferment glucose without gas production.52 Several Vibrio species have been implicated in foodborne illnesses worldwide although the aetiological evidence is not firm for some species. Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the most common species associated with human disease in the USA, followed by V vulnificus, and non-epidemic V cholerae
Microbiology
Clostridium botulinum is a Gram-positive, anaerobic bacillus that forms subterminal spores (figure 5). There are four groups based on proteolytic activity and type of toxin produced. C botulinum spores are often seen in the soil and marine sediment and can tolerate extr eme temperatures for many hours. The toxin is heat labile and can be destroyed if the food is sufficiently cooked. Based on antigenic properties botulism toxins are divided into six types; type E predominates in foodborne
Other bacteria
Campylobacter spp are Gram-negative, comma-shaped bacteria that are recognised worldwide as zoonotic pathogens in both wild and domesticated animals. In human beings Campylobacter spp cause both enteric and extraintestinal infections. The most common cause of human enteritis is Campylobacter jejuni (to a lesser degree C coli but they are indistinguishable clinically) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates an incident rate of 2·4 million cases annually.146 The
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Seafood-associated disease outbreaks in New York, 1980–1994
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Outbreak of viral gastroenteritis due to sewage-contaminated drinking water
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Food-related illness and death in the United States
Emerg Infect Dis
Establishing jurisdiction through forensic parasitology
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Infectious and toxic syndromes from fish and shellfish consumption. A review
Arch Intern Med
The role of seafood in foodborne diseases in the United States of America
Rev Sci Tech
The inverse relation between fish consumption and 20 year mortality from coronary heart disease
N Engl J Med
Fish consumption and mortality from coronary heart disease
N Engl J Med
Health and safety concerns in fisheries and aquaculture
Occup Med
Illness associated with seafood
Can Med Assoc J
Selective accumulation may account for shellfish-associated viral illness
Appl Environ Microbiol
The epidemiology of enteric caliciviruses from humans: a reassessment using new diagnostics
J Infect Dis
Waterborne outbreak of gastroenteritis associated with a norovirus
Appl Environ Microbiol
Organization and expression of the calicivirus genes
J Infect Dis
Structural studies of recombinant Norwalk capsids
J Infect Dis
The discovery of the 27-nm Norwalk virus: an historic perspective
J Infect Dis
Detection of norwalklike virus in shellfish implicated in illness
J Infect Dis
Multistate outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis traced to fecal-contaminated oysters harvested in Louisiana
J Infect Dis
Cold weather seasonality of gastroenteritis associated with Norwalk-like viruses
J Infect Dis
A serosurvey of pathogens associated with shellfish: prevalence of antibodies to Vibrio species and Norwalk virus in the Chesapeake Bay region
Am J Epidemiol
Seroprevalence of Norwalk virus and Mexico virus in Chilean individuals: assessment of independent risk factors for antibody acquisition
Clin Infect Dis
Multistate outbreak of viral gastroenteritis associated with consumption of oysters—Apalachicola Bay, Florida, December 1994–January 1995
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
Outbreak of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection associated with eating raw oysters and clams harvested from the Long Island Sound—Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, 1998
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
An outbreak of viral gastroenteritis associated with adequately prepared oysters
Epidemiol Infect
An outbreak of Norwalk virus gastroenteritis following consumption of oysters
Commun Dis Intell
The impact of foodborne calicivirus disease: the Minnesota experience
J Infect Dis
Epidemiology of calicivirus infections in Sweden, 1994–1998
J Infect Dis
An outbreak of Norwalk virus gastroenteritis associated with eating raw oysters. Implications for maintaining safe oyster beds
JAMA
Detection and analysis of a small round-structured virus strain in oysters implicated in an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis
Appl Environ Microbiol
Failure of cooking to prevent shellfish-associated viral gastroenteritis
Arch Intern Med
Human caliciviruses in acute gastroenteritis of young children in the community
J Infect Dis
An outbreak of Norwalk virus gastroenteritis following consumption of oysters
Commun Dis Intell
Outbreaks of Norwalk-like virus-associated gastroenteritis traced to shellfish: coexistence of two genotypes in one specimen
Epidemiol Infect
Norwalk-like virus infection in military forces: epidemic potential, sporadic disease, and the future direction of prevention and control efforts
J Infect Dis
Dose-response in an outbreak of non-bacterial food poisoning traced to a mixed seafood cocktail
Epidemiol Infect
Diagnosis of human caliciviruses by use of enzyme immunoassays
J Infect Dis
Visualization by immune electron microscopy of a 27-nm particle associated with acute infectious nonbacterial gastroenteritis
J Virol
Detection of Norwalk virus in stool specimens by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction and nonradioactive oligoprobes
J Clin Microbiol
Laboratory diagnosis of norovirus: which method is the best?
Intervirology
Cited by (173)
Association between rainfall and Escherichia coli in live bivalve molluscs harvested in Sardinia, Italy
2023, Food Research InternationalAssociation between Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. food safety criteria in live bivalve molluscs from wholesale and retail markets
2022, Food ControlCitation Excerpt :Therefore, continuous monitoring of Salmonella spp. should be conducted by control authorities on bivalve molluscs placed on the market. While Salmonella spp. is considered one of the most important causes of human gastroenteritis (EFSA and ECDC, 2018), a large number of pathogens present in faeces or in the aquatic environment (e.g. pathogenic forms of E. coli, Vibrio spp., Arcobacter spp., Shighella, norovirus and Hepatitis A virus) can potentially cause human infection through the consumption of bivalve mollusc when eaten raw or lightly cooked (Butt et al., 2004; Iwamoto et al., 2010; Lees, 2000; Mudadu et al., 2021; Savichtcheva & Okabe, 2006). The purification process of bivalve shellfish commonly applied in commercial practice has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing fecal bacteria contaminants such as E. coli and Arcobacter butzleri while it is not consistently effective against other contaminants (Gyawali et al., 2019; Leoni et al., 2017; Mannas et al., 2014; Martinez-Manzanares et al., 1992; Polo et al., 2014; Serratore et al., 2014).
Microbial risk assessment and mitigation options for wastewater treatment in Arctic Canada
2022, Microbial Risk AnalysisPathogens and their sources in freshwater fish, sea finfish, shellfish, and algae
2022, Present Knowledge in Food Safety: A Risk-Based Approach through the Food Chain