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This article was written by Stacey Janzer and originally published by CBC News on November 27, 2024 at 6:00AM AST. We are sharing the full text here for reference. All rights remain with the original publisher.

There is no sign of dermo in Prince Edward Island waters so far

(Brittany Spencer/CBC)

P.E.I.’s minister of fisheries says the Maritime oyster industry has sustained another blow after evidence of a new disease was recently found in oysters from Spence Cove, about five kilometres west of the Confederation Bridge in New Brunswick.

The New Brunswick case is thought to be the first detection in Canadian waters of dermo, caused by a parasite called Perkinsus marinus. It does not pose a risk to human health or food safety, but increases oyster mortality and decreases its growth rates.

P.E.I. Fisheries Minister Zack Bell said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is taking the lead in handling the search for other locations with dermo.

“It’s unfortunately another blow to the industry. The industry has been kind of in that uncertain phase, you know, since the summer when the MSX was found,” Bell said.

MSX, short for multinucleate sphere unknown, was first detected in samples taken from P.E.I.’s Bedeque Bay in July, with additional positive test results from other areas coming in over the summer and fall.

Like dermo, it affects only oysters and not humans eating oysters from waters known to have MSX.