Detection of hepatitis a virus in wild shellfish

Twenty-two mussel and cockle samples were collected after a hepatitis A outbreak on the Atlantic coast, in France. Detection of hepatitis A virus (HAV) antigen by radioimmunoassay and HAV RNA by hybridization were negative. However, HAV RNA was detected by reverse transcription and semi-nested polymerase chain reaction in 16 samples, and replication in cell culture was observed with four of them.