Viral Pollution of Shellfish. 1. Some Basic Facts of Uptake. ∗

Summary

Several aspects concerning viral uptake by shellfish have been investigated by using the Northern quahaug and a strain of attenuated poliovirus type I as working models. In a running seawater system, it was shown that the degree of viral uptake by shellfish was inversely related to the viral levels of their surrounding seawater. Under simulated natural conditions, uptake was considerable and majority of virus was recovered from digestive diverticula with stomachs. The basic mechanism of viral uptake by shellfish was explored by using pseudofeces obtained from normal quahaugs. It was shown that poliovirus was capable of adsorbing onto the mucus material very efficiently regardless of temperature used, 4-3 7 °C.