Norovirus : are you at risk eating clams?

Just for 2014, Clams from Vietnam have been controled 24 times for the presence of norovirus by the RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food & Feed)

Vietnamese Clams

Hard clams live in marine waters, especially in central Viet Nam. But some bivalves are also found in estuarine tidal flats such as those of the Mekong Delta.

Meretrix lyrata and Production areas

Meretrix lyrata lives in mud flats with sandy or muddy bottoms.
The clams are either concentrated in big estuarine areas or scattered in small coastal sand dunes mixed with mud flats.

The culture of this species has developed in coastal alluvial grounds of Ben Tre, Soc Trang, Tien Giang and Tra Vinh provinces with yields of up to 50 tonnes/ha. 

Vietnam Mekong Delta to Build 30 Wastewater Treatment Plants by 2020

Under the planning on water drainage for major economic zones in the region by 2020, 13 plants for domestic wastewater treatment and 17 ones for industrial wastewater treatment will be built in Can Tho, An Giang, Kien Giang and Ca Mau.


Sources :
- Wageningen UR
- RASFF
- Mekong River Commission
- FAO
- NGO Centre
- The Mekong Delta System: Interdisciplinary Analyses of a River Delta [Fabrice G. Renaud,Claudia Kuenzer]