Bacteriological and virological examinations of Louisiana and Texas Gulf Coast oysters were done over a 12-month period. Oysters taken from approved waters sometimes contained detectable enteroviruses: echovirus 4 and poliovirus 1 were in one each of 17 samples from Texas, and poliovirus 3 was in one of 24 samples from Louisiana. Neither the coliform MPN for the water from the shellfish beds nor the coliform MPN, Escherichia coli MPN, or aerobic plate counts for the shellfish meats was clearly indicative of the presence of virus. Two of the 24 oyster meat samples which contatined Vibrio parahaemolyticus also yielded virus; however, virus was present in one of 17 samples in which V. parahaemolyticus was not detected. Poliovirus 1 was also found in frozen, shucked oysters imported from Japan.

This paper reports a series of experiments in which two methods of collecting airborne bacteriophage particles were compared. A standard aerosol sampler, the AGI-30, was evaluated for its competence in measuring the content of bacteriophage aerosols. It was used alone or with a prewetting or humidification device (humidifier bulb) to recover T3 coliphage and Pasteurella pestis bacteriophage particles from aerosols maintained at 21 C and varied relative humidity. Collection of bacteriophage particles via the humidifier bulb altered both the initial recovery level and the apparent biological decay. Sampling airborne bacteriophage particles by the AGI-30 alone yielded data that apparently underestimated the maximal number of potentially viable particles within the aerosol, sometimes by as much as 3 logs.

Extracts from two species of marine red algae, Cryptosyphonia woodii and Farlowia mollis, specifically inhibited herpes simplex virus replication in vitro.Studies on marine flora and fauna as sources of antiviral agents have not been extensive (1, 5) despite indications that such sources were potentially useful (2, 4, 7). This preliminary report describes the inhibition of types 1 and 2 herpes simplex virus (HSV-1 and HSV-2) replication in cell monolayers pretreated with extracts derived from two related species of Rhodophyta, Cryptosyphonia woodii and Farlowia mollis.Algae were collected at Duxbury Reef, Bolinas, Calif., identified by species, and stored at -70 C. Frozen samples were combined with citrate-phosphate buffer (3) at pH 7.0 (20%, wet wt/vol), homogenized in a Waring blender, and then incubated at 4 C overnight.Antiviral activity was assessed as follows.

Extracts of 28 species of marine macroscopic algae collected from various coastal habitats of northern California were examined for antiviral activity against a broad spectrum of mammalian viruses. Ten members of Rhodophyta contained substance(s) which caused greater than a 2 log reduction in the infectivity of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2. In addition, anti‐Coxsackie Bs virus activity was detected in extracts of Constantinea simplex Setchell. The physical and chemical properties of the substance in extracts of Farlowia mollis (Harvey and Bailey) Farlow and Setchell and C. simplex indicated the active agent was a structural polysaccharide.