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The
Issue:
The problem
of oyster
disease
began in
1956 on
the East
coast,
when an
unknown
parasite
killed
more than
90 percent
of the
oysters
in Delaware
Bay. Early
in the
1940s,
oysters
in the
Gulf Coast
began declining.
Since then,
oysters
on the
East, West
and Gulf
coast have
been declining
due to
two types
of fatalistic,
parasitic
diseases:
Haplosporidium
nelsoni,
which causes
MSX disease,
and Perkinsus
marinus,
which causes
Dermo disease.
Sea Grant:
Sea Grant
now administers
the Oyster
Disease
Research
Program
(ODRP).
Through
the ODRP,
Sea Grant
hopes to
develop
optimal
strategies
for managing
oyster
disease,
understand
the process
of parasitic
infection,
improve
the understanding
of the
oyster’s
immune
system;
improve
hatchery
techniques
for producing
disease-resistant
strains,
and develop
molecular
tools to
better
monitor
the onset
and presence
of disease.
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