Viability of the etiologic agent of the Lethargic Crab Disease, Exophiala cancerae, during cooking of the mangrove-land crab: Does this traditional dish represent a risk to humans?

One of the most typical seafood dishes in the Brazilian coastal areas is the cooked mangrove-land crab, Ucides cordatus (L.). Mortality events of U. cordatus were reported from a large extension for over 15 years, especially in the Northeast region. These mortalities are known to be triggered by an epizooty known as Lethargic Crab Disease, for which the putative etiological agent is a new species of black yeast, Exophiala cancerae De Hoog, Vicente, Najafzadeh, Harrak, Seyedmousavi, & Boeger. Although there is no compelling evidence that this fungus may represent a zoonosis, there is great public concern regarding consumption of crabs from affected regions. Thus, this study evaluates the efficiency of cooking procedures on the inactivation of the etiologic agent. The variation of the internal temperature of crabs and tests of the activity of E. cancerae to temperature under simulated cooking condition were determined and the results were analyzed combined. The results indicate that crab’s core body attains the boiling water temperature about an average of 14 min after exposition. Furthermore, short intervals of exposure (30 s) to such boiling temperatures were sufficient to warrant inactivation of E. cancerae. Thus, the traditional mode of preparation of the mangrove-land crab is sufficient to inactivate the pathologic agent and the consumption of sick or carrier animals should not represent a potential public health risk.