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<p>The goal of this project is to develop missing tools for detection of residential patogens in shellfish area waters and use those new tools to deliver much needed scientific information to shellfish managers, growers, and policy makers in order to prevent infections from Vibrio parahaemolyticus and protect and promote a growing agricultural industry in New Hampshire through a safer product. Objective 1: We will apply cutting edge whole genome sequencing to construct detailed epidemiologies of pathogens that have cause infections and outbreaks in the region. Objective 2: We will complete whole genome comparisons and, based on identified unique characteristics of the pathogen strains of most threat, we will develop a diagnostic method for strain types that utilizes fast molecular detection, and sensitive quantification. Objective 3: We will pilot the newly developed typing method and quantify pathogenic strain abundance in experimental populations to identify factors that can influence strain dominance, an important factor in predicting potential exposure risk. </p>
<p>NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a common member of the marine environment and it can periodically cause devastating outbreaks of gastroenteritis. Projections suggest as many as 45,000 foodborne infections a year are caused by V. parahaemolyticus, and it is the most common seafood-born bacterial infection in the United States. Even as public health officials and shellfish managers grapple with developing appropriate protective strategies, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we are unable to explain the exact cause of increased incidence here in New England that is necessary to inform management and regulatory strategies. The current change in disease incidence in this cooler climate presents a timely opportunity to identify the environmental factors that drive changes in the occurrence of pathogen-related strain types informing the development of measures to reduce human disease. The shellfish aquaculture industry has suffered increasingly more frequent vibrio-associated disease outbreaks linked to shellfish consumption, both on a national, and very recently on a regional scale. These outbreaks and even individual cases of disease have had a widespread and cumulatively devastating impact on markets. Concerns about shellfish safety for the public has prompted discussion about implementation of further restrictions on the marketing of live fresh shellfish from certain at risk regions that could be economically crippling to the shellfish industry. Because of this, the top priority of the east coast shellfish growers industry is to reduce food-borne illnesses associated with their products. We will identify pathogenic strains in the region, fully sequence their genomes, and through comparisons identify unique traits that identify a strain as a known pathogen. This pathogen profiling strategy, will then be used to develop detection tools. The specific detection tools will then be used in simple laboratory experiments to evaluate to what extent the pathogens can be quantified among a mixed population, and we will then examine a series of conditions for their ability to cause an increase in the pathogenic strains. Once the method is developed and piloted, we will be positioned to evaluate environmental conditions that influence pathogen abundance in shellfish harvest areas. Additionally, we will provide the molecular detection tools to shellfish managers to improve their ability to monitor shellfish beds and make science-based decisions about harvesting, such as shellfish bed closures, and reopening after a closure. Ultimately these efforts will protect the shellfish industry from the effects of bad press when product is found unsafe by better ensuring a safe product, and promote public safety through the prevention of disease. </p>