<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec>
<h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>Rotaviruses are non-enveloped viruses that each consist of 11 double-stranded RNA molecules. These viruses are able to persist in the environment, and therefore play a fundamental role in the epidemiology of gastroenteritis and severe diarrhoea in children worldwide. While mussels have been primarily used as indicators of chemical pollution, they can also be used to monitor viral contamination. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that the <italic>Mytilus galloprovincialis</italic> mussel can also be used to detect microbial contamination, owing to its tendency to naturally concentrate viruses and other pathogens.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Material and Methods</h3>
<p>A total of 102 <italic>Mytilus galloprovincialis</italic> mussel samples from Albania were collected over a three-year period: 37 samples off the Cape of Stillo in 2015, 39 samples from Butrinti Lake in 2019 and 26 samples from Butrinti Lake in 2021.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Results</h3>
<p>The presence of rotavirus in the Cape of Stillo samples in 2015 was noted in 47% of samples from site 1, 33% from site 2, and 52% from site 3. In Butrinti Lake the percentage of infected individuals in 2019 was 33% from site 1, 41% from site 2, and 33% from site 3, whereas in 2021, it was 50% from site 1, 19% from site 2, and 0% from site 3. In total the percentage of infected individuals off the Cape of Stillo in 2015 was 44%, in Butrinti Lake in 2019 it was 36%, and in Butrinti Lake in 2021 it was 23 %.</p>
</sec>
<sec>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>These results indicate the presence of rotavirus in the shellfish specimens tested, and further analysis is needed to assess the potential health risks associated with consuming these shellfish. This study also indicates that mussels can be used in marine virological surveillance programmes.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Introduction
Rotaviruses are non-enveloped viruses that each consist of 11 double-stranded RNA molecules. These viruses are able to persist in the environment, and therefore play a fundamental role in the epidemiology of gastroenteritis and severe diarrhoea in children worldwide. While mussels have been primarily used as indicators of chemical pollution, they can also be used to monitor viral contamination. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that the Mytilus galloprovincialis mussel can also be used to detect microbial contamination, owing to its tendency to naturally concentrate viruses and other pathogens.


Material and Methods
A total of 102 Mytilus galloprovincialis mussel samples from Albania were collected over a three-year period: 37 samples off the Cape of Stillo in 2015, 39 samples from Butrinti Lake in 2019 and 26 samples from Butrinti Lake in 2021.


Results
The presence of rotavirus in the Cape of Stillo samples in 2015 was noted in 47% of samples from site 1, 33% from site 2, and 52% from site 3. In Butrinti Lake the percentage of infected individuals in 2019 was 33% from site 1, 41% from site 2, and 33% from site 3, whereas in 2021, it was 50% from site 1, 19% from site 2, and 0% from site 3. In total the percentage of infected individuals off the Cape of Stillo in 2015 was 44%, in Butrinti Lake in 2019 it was 36%, and in Butrinti Lake in 2021 it was 23 %.


Conclusion
These results indicate the presence of rotavirus in the shellfish specimens tested, and further analysis is needed to assess the potential health risks associated with consuming these shellfish. This study also indicates that mussels can be used in marine virological surveillance programmes.

Possibilities of using mussels (<italic>Mytilus galloprovincialis</italic>) to predict rotavirus contamination in Albania

Journal of Veterinary Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Possibilities of using mussels () to predict rotavirus contamination in Albania

Introduction
Rotaviruses are non-enveloped viruses that each consist of 11 double-stranded RNA molecules. These viruses are able to persist in the environment,...

	Off the Cape of Stillo	Butrinti Lake
Sampling 2015	39°41’19.7”N	39°45’09.3”N
Sampling 2015	19°59’28.1”E	20°01’35.3”E
Sampling 2019	39°41’16.6”N	39°45’22.6”N
Sampling 2019	19°59’05.8”E	20°01’53.6”E
Sampling 2021	39°41’26.5”N	39°45’18.1”N
Sampling 2021	19°59’49.4”E	20°02’22.6”E

Study area	N	Range	Mean	Std. deviation	Variance
Cape of Stillo (2015)	9	80	44.111	31.0743	965.611
Butrinti lake (2019)	9	25	35.733	10.00587	100.118
Butrinti lake (2021)	9	66.7	23.144	24.9266	621.335

Possibilities of using mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) to predict rotavirus contamination in Albania

Published Online: Sep 20, 2023

Page range: 339 - 345

Received: Mar 30, 2023

Accepted: Sep 14, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2023-0053

Keywords
rotaviruses, shellfish, Butrinti Lake, Cape of Stillo

© 2023 Arta Lugaj et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 4.

Coordinates of the investigated sampling sites

Descriptive statistics from Butrinti Lake and Cape of Stillo in 2015, 2019 and 2021

Possibilities of using mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) to predict rotavirus contamination in Albania

Published Online: Sep 20, 2023

Page range: 339 - 345

Received: Mar 30, 2023

Accepted: Sep 14, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2023-0053

Keywordsrotaviruses, shellfish, Butrinti Lake, Cape of Stillo

© 2023 Arta Lugaj et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 4.

Coordinates of the investigated sampling sites

Descriptive statistics from Butrinti Lake and Cape of Stillo in 2015, 2019 and 2021

Keywords
rotaviruses, shellfish, Butrinti Lake, Cape of Stillo