Potential causes of mortality for horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) during the biomedical bleeding process
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چکیده
Biomedical companies catch and bleed horseshoe crabs for the production of Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL), a product used for protecting public health (Berkson and Shuster, 1999). LAL is a clotting agent, derived solely from horseshoe crab blood cells, which is used to detect the presence of pathogenic gramnegative bacteria in injectable drugs and implantable medical and dental devices (Mikkelsen, 1988; Novitsky, 1991). In addition, LAL is used in many diagnostic tests for such illnesses as gram-negative bacterial meningitis and typhoid fever (Ding and Ho, 2001). Because the LAL test allows one to detect femtogram levels of endotoxin (Ding and Ho, 2001), it is the most effective test for detecting endotoxin contamination, and its increasing use in medical and pharmaceutical laboratories makes it a highly valued product. The biomedical industry harvested approximately 260,000 horseshoe crabs in 1997 (HCTC1) for the production of LAL. By 2000, the number of horseshoe crabs bled had increased less than 1% (ASMFC2). However, approximately 25% of the horseshoe crabs landed for biomedical purposes were rejected for use, and about 45% of those rejected were rejected bePotential causes of mortality for horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) during the biomedical bleeding process
منابع مشابه
Mortality in female horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) from biomedical bleeding and handling: implications for fisheries management
To cite this Article Leschen, A. S. andCorreia, S. J.(2010) 'Mortality in female horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) from biomedical bleeding and handling: implications for fisheries management', Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology, 43: 2, 135 — 147, First published on: 29 April 2010 (iFirst) To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/10236241003786873 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1023...
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E-mail address (for J. Berkson, contact author): [email protected] the United States, mandated that all biomedical companies actively bleed ing horseshoe crabs estimate mortal ity rates resulting from their bleeding process (Schrading et al.3). Because of the unique methods of the different biomedical companies, each company was required to quantify its own rate of mortality. BioWhittaker, a CA...
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Horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) are bled by biomedical companies for the extraction of Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate (LAL), a clotting agent used in the detection of endotoxins. In 1998, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Conunission mandated tliat all biomedical companies collecting horseshoe crabs for the production of LAL study tl1e horseshoe crab mortality rates resulting from the compan...
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