A metabarcoding approach for detecting protozoan pathogens in wild oysters from Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Food and waterborne protozoan pathogens including Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia enterica and Toxoplasma gondii are a global concern for human public health. While all three pathogens have been detected in commercial shellfish, there is currently no standard approach for detecting protozoan parasites in shellfish. Common molecular and microscopic methods are limited in the number of pathogens they can simultaneously detect and are often targeted at one or two of these pathogens.

Application of next generation sequencing for detection of protozoan pathogens in shellfish.

Food and waterborne protozoan pathogens can cause serious disease in people. Three common species , and can contaminate diverse shellfish species, including commercial oysters. Current methods of protozoan detection in shellfish are not standardized, and few are able to simultaneously identify multiple species.