Investigation into Cryptosporidium and Giardia in bivalve mollusks farmed in Sardinia region and destined for human consumption


Submitted: 31 January 2013
Accepted: 24 April 2013
Published: 10 June 2013
Abstract Views: 1959
PDF - FULL TEXT in ENG: 1605
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Authors

  • Tiziana Tedde Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy.
  • Gabriella Piras Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy.
  • Sara Salza Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy.
  • Rosa Maria Nives Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy.
  • Giovanna Sanna Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy.
  • Sebastiana Tola Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy.
  • Jacopo Culurgioni Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Sezione di Parassitologia e Malattie parassitarie, Università di Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
  • Cristina Piras Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Sezione di Parassitologia e Malattie parassitarie, Università di Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
  • Paolo Merella Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Sezione di Parassitologia e Malattie parassitarie, Università di Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
  • Giovanni Garippa Dipartimento di Biologia Animale, Sezione di Parassitologia e Malattie parassitarie, Università di Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
  • Sebastiano Virgilio Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy.
Cryptosporidium and Giardia are protozoan parasites transmitted by fecal-oral ingestion of (oo)cysts, and are responsible for enteritis in several animal species and humans worldwide. These (oo)cysts can survive for over a year in aquatic environments and can accumulate in bivalve mollusks, which filter large volumes of water. The aim of this study is to evaluate the natural occurrence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia contamination in different specimens of edible bivalves mollusks from farming sites of the western and north-eastern coasts of Sardinia. From April 2011 to February 2012, 1095 specimens of Mytilus galloprovincialis and 240 of Crassostrea gigas were sampled from Olbia and Oristano gulf and San Teodoro pond. Hepatopancreas and gills, including the labial palp, were examined for oocysts and cysts after pooling and homogenisation using different techniques: i) staining for light and fluorescence microscopy; ii) direct immunofluorescence (IF) Merifluor® test Cryptosporidium/ Giardia (Meridian Bioscience Inc., Cincinnati, OH, USA); and iii) molecular procedures. However, in the context under study, all mollusks examined with the three main diagnostic techniques were negative for both parasites pointing out the hypothetically low zoonotic risk related to Cryptosporidium and Giardia in bivalves, especially Mytilus galloprovincialis and Crassostrea gigas.

Supporting Agencies

Italian Ministry of Health

1.
Tedde T, Piras G, Salza S, Nives RM, Sanna G, Tola S, Culurgioni J, Piras C, Merella P, Garippa G, Virgilio S. Investigation into Cryptosporidium and Giardia in bivalve mollusks farmed in Sardinia region and destined for human consumption. Ital J Food Safety [Internet]. 2013 Jun. 10 [cited 2024 Mar. 29];2(2):e26. Available from: https://www.pagepressjournals.org/ijfs/article/view/ijfs.2013.e26

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