The detection of cryptosporidial oocysts in mussel tissue harvested for human consumption has obvious implications for human health.
In contrast to mussels, perch and their acanthocephalans are more mobile and thus less precise indicators of localized differences in pollution.
For example, different communities used to go fishing in this area, or the women used to go get the mussels there.
Nothing is known of survival of oocysts under typical mussel cooking conditions.
They were isolated for more than six months and during this period fed on frozen mussels and prawns only.
However, there is a higher degree of variability among the metal burden of the parasites than among individual mussels.
After drying, the shells were opened and the adductor mussels were cut using a sterile scalpel.
This is the first study of its kind to establish human sewage as the source of oocyst contamination in saltwater mussels through molecular characterization of the human genotype.
