Researchers from several institutions, including the Ateneo de Manila University, the University of the Philippines, Monash University Malaysia Selangor, and the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, have warned that little is known about how the Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) spreads through local communities via commonly cultivated shellfish such as oysters and mollusks.
Prompting an urgent call for further research and monitoring, the researchers warned that although the wider Philippine public is aware of the dangers from other food safety concerns such as “red tide,” there is little public awareness of the dangers from HAV and other viruses.
