Survey for protozoan parasites in Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from the Gulf of Maine using PCR-based assays.

Protozoan pathogens represent a serious threat to oyster aquaculture, since they can lead to significant production loses. Moreover, oysters can concentrate human pathogens through filter feeding, thus putting at risk raw oyster consumers' health. Using PCR-based assays in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from Maine, we expand the Northeast range in the USA for the protozoans Perkinsus marinus, Perkinsus chesapeaki, and Haplosporidium nelsoni, and report for the first time the detection of the human pathogens Toxoplasma gondii and Cryptosporidium parvum. Oysters hosting both P. marinus and P. chesapeaki were more than three times as likely to be infected by a non-Perkinsus than those free of Perkinsus infections.