Graczyk, T.K., D.J. Marcogliese, Y. de Lafontaine, A.J. Da Silva, B. Mhangami-Ruwende, and N.J Pieniazek, 2001. Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts in Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha): Evidence from the St. Lawrence River, Johns Hopkins University.

Reprinted from Parasitology Research (2001) 87(3): 231-234 with kind permission from Springer Science and Business Media

Cryptosporidium parvum Oocysts in Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha): Evidence from the St. Lawrence River

Molluscan shellfish can recover and concentrate environmentally derived waterborne pathogens and can be used for the sanitary assessment of water quality. Oocysts of Cryptosporidium parvum (genotype 1) were identified in zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) from the St. Lawrence River, Quebec, Approximately 67 oocysts/ml of hemolymph and 129 oocysts/g of soft tissue were recovered. The adjusted concentration of oocysts per gram of tissue was 2.2 x 10(2), and approximately 4.4 x 10(2) oocysts were recovered from a single mussel, Zebra mussels can serve as biological indicators of waterborne contamination with Cryptosporidium.

Contact: Thaddeus Graczyk, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Key Words: Zebra_mussel, Monitoring, Population_dynamics
Product Type: Research, Impact
User Type: General