{"id":471,"date":"2021-01-25T01:17:59","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T01:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/?p=471"},"modified":"2023-07-27T16:09:53","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T20:09:53","slug":"do-bacteria-in-the-water-infect-us-through-shellfish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/hooklinescience\/do-bacteria-in-the-water-infect-us-through-shellfish\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Bacteria in the Water Infect Us through Shellfish?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Oysters and Clams Carry Different Levels of Microbes \u2013 And Some Are Harmful<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shellfish are filter feeders, meaning they take in water, and from this water, they take in food and nutrients. This means sometimes they also take in water-borne pathogenic bacteria, such as Vibrio vulnificus<\/em> and Vibrio parahaemolyticus<\/em>. When we consume raw clams and oysters, these pathogenic bacteria remain alive and, therefore, can infect us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a trend in declining water quality, an increasing number of shellfish contain pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, understanding the conditions surrounding the intake of these microbes is a crucial human health need. If the amount of bacteria in the water correlates with the amount present in the shellfish, water sampling could help to better understand the potential risk to shellfish consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over a period of 2 years, researchers sampled water and collected shellfish from several sites, including some sites in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>
Research Need<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What did they study?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n