Remarkably, for the protozoan parasites analyzed here, there was a lag period between the description of the etiological agent and a noticeable increase in the number of JWH-015 published reports. Since their identification, the number of papers/year for all four parasites, have reached the maximum sometime during the past few years, and although the diseases they cause have not been resolved a significant L-741,626 decrease can be observed during the last decade. An exception is the noticeable rebound of published papers that has taken place for Marteilia in 2013; however, the next few years will reveal if this trend will continue. Interestingly, this overall decrease in the total of number of papers has been also accompanied by a decrease in the percent of the literature reporting the disease, reaching, in the last decade, the lowest ratios of papers on diseases compared to total papers on molluscs. This trend could be interpreted as a reduction of field monitoring programs, together with the acceptance that although the parasite is still a major concern and the management strategies available are judged sufficient. The interested parties may put these to practice in the field without being reported in the peer�C reviewed literature. Remarkably, and with the exception of Dermo and likely derived from the establishment of the culture methodologies, it appears that the numbers of papers published on these parasitic diseases follow 20�C to 30�C year modes. The local commercial importance of the shellfishery and the impact of the disease clearly play a significant role in the frequency of reports emerging from a particular area. Since the availability of research funds is a key factor that contributes to the publication rates, we attempted to identify those grants that specifically concern any aspects of the parasitic diseases addressed in this study. This search was limited to the National Science Foundation, because a searchable database for funded grant proposals is readily available. Since 1996, eighteen projects on Perkinsus biology have been funded by this agency, all of these addressing mechanistic or ecological aspects of Dermo disease. Nevertheless, it is also clear that programs supported by other funding agencies such as the state Sea Grant offices, and the Oyster Disease Research Program from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have been and are still vital for supporting research on multiple aspects of these diseases in the USA, in both basic and translational studies.