Occurrence of hepatitis A virus in green-lipped mussels (Perna viridis)

In a preliminary survey of hepatitis A virus (HAV) ill local shellfish, HAV was found present in shellfish on two out of nine separate sampling occasi ons conducted in the winter. No HAV was ever detected in the shellfish-rear ing marine waters on same sampling occasions. The levels of faecal coliform s and coliphages in both the shellfish and the shellfish-rearing waters did not provide any indication of the likelihood of the presence or absence of HAV in the shellfish. Subsequent one-year monthly microbiological monitori ng of shellfish at two sites also gave similar results in that HAV was dete cted in shellfish on two sampling occasions in the autumn but levels of fae cal coliforms and coliphages did not provide any clue to the presence or ab sence of HAV. The present study suggests that direct examination of HAV in shellfish may be useful for monitoring HAV in water environment. (C) 1998 E lsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.