Abstract
Aim
This study set out to determine whether phage-based indicators may provide a ‘low-tech’ alternative to existing approaches that might help maintain the microbial safety of shellfish and their overlying waters.
Methods and Results
Mussels and their overlying waters were collected biweekly from an estuary in southeast England over a 2-year period (May 2013–April 2015) (n=48). Levels of bacterial indicators were determined using membrane filtration and most probable number methods and those of bacteriophages were determined by direct plaque assay. The detection of adenovirus was determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results revealed that somatic coliphages demonstrated the most significant correlations with AdV F and G in mussels (ρ=0·55) and overlying waters (ρ=0·66), followed by GB124 phages (ρ=0·43) while Escherichia coli showed no correlation with AdV F and G in mussels.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that the use of somatic coliphages and GB124 phages may provide a better indication of the risk of adenovirus contamination of mussels and their overlying waters than existing bacterial indicators.
Significance and Impact of the Study
Phage-based detection may be particularly advantageous in low-resource settings where viral infectious disease presents a significant burden to human health.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1152-1162 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Microbiology |
Volume | 121 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 5 Jul 2016 |
Bibliographical note
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article:Olalemi, A., Purnell, S., Caplin, J., Ebdon, J. and Taylor, H. (2016), The application of phage-based faecal pollution markers to predict the concentration of adenoviruses in mussels (Mytilus edulis) and their overlying waters. J Appl Microbiol, 121: 1152–1162. doi:10.1111/jam.13222 , which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jam.13222/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingFingerprint
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James Ebdon
- School of Applied Sciences - Professor of Environmental Microbiology
- Centre for Earth Observation Science
- Environment and Public Health Research Excellence Group
Person: Academic