Presently, model agents such as murine norovirus are being used experimentally to predict the persistence of human noroviruses in food and the environment, in that cultivation of human noroviruses in laboratory cell cultures has not lent itself to such experiments (Duizer et al. 2004 ). However, the challenges of detecting viruses in food and water, even when host systems were available, have always evoked wishes that surrogates could be found that would obviate testing field samples for the presence of viruses themselves. Both bacterial ''indicators'' and other viruses, including bacteriophages, have been considered. I will not try to survey the vast literature on this subject, but only give an overview of our activities. In that we were in a landlocked location, we welcomed the opportunity to join a collaboration looking at bacterial indicators and Gulf Coast oysters (Fugate et al. 1975) . EC6, PO1, and poliovirus 3 were found in the oysters, with no apparent correlation with coliform MPN, E. coli MPN, aerobic plate count, or the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.