Evaluation by molecular biology of enterovirus and hepatitis A virus contamination of shellfish in the Loire River estuary region

Riboprobes developed in our laboratory were used for detection of enteroviruses and hepatitis A virus (HAV) in shellfish (cockles and mussels). After concentration elution, virus nucleic acids were extracted and purified. Hybridization was performed on a solid support according to the dot-blot technique, with (32P) UTP labelling of probes during transcription. Results show high shellfish contamination in samples: 63% enteroviruses and 67% HAV. Cockles were particularly contaminated: 89% enteroviruses and 84% HAV.