Detection of Zoonotic Protozoan Pathogens in Shellfish from Nunavut and Atlantic Canada

• Main Author: Fung, Rebecca
• Other Authors: Shapiro, Karen, Sargeant, Jan
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Guelph 2020
• Subjects: toxoplasma gondii; cryptosporidium; arctic; shellfish; oysters; clams; crassostrea virginica; mya truncata; protozoa; zoonoses; country foods; inuit; Iqaluit; Nunavut; Prince Edward Island
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10214/21241

Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium spp. are important and prevalent foodborne parasites in Canada. Both parasites are shed in feces and surface water run-off can transport fecal pathogens into the watershed. Through filter-feeding, bivalve shellfish have been shown to contain both T. gondii and Cryptosporidium spp., posing a risk of foodborne exposure to people who consume shellfish. Clams are an important country food for the Inuit community in Iqaluit, and the oyster fishery in Prince Edward Island (PEI) is a valuable industry. While presence of Cryptosporidium spp. in clams or oysters from Iqaluit or PEI, respectively, has been previously reported, the prevalence of T. gondii and viability of parasites is unknown. By PCR, 2.1% of clams (Mya truncata, N=390) from Iqaluit contained T. gondii DNA. By PCR, 0.1% of oysters (Crassostrea virginica, N=1005) from PEI contained T. gondii DNA, and no oysters were sequence-confirmed to contain Cryptosporidium spp. DNA. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada