Occurrence of hepatitis A virus in green-lipped mussels (Perna viridis)

In a preliminary survey of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in local shellfish, HAV was found present in shellfish on two out of nine separate sampling occasions conducted in the winter. No HAV was ever detected in the shellfish-rearing marine waters on same sampling occasions. The levels of faecal coliforms and coliphages in both the shellfish and the shellfish-rearing waters did not provide any indication of the likelihood of the presence or absence of HAV in the shellfish. Subsequent one-year monthly microbiological monitoring of shellfish at two sites also gave similar results in that HAV was detected in shellfish on two sampling occasions in the autumn but levels of faecal coliforms and coliphages did not provide any clue to the presence or absence of HAV. The present study suggests that direct examination of HAV in shellfish may be useful for monitoring HAV in water environment.