Research Publications (Food Safety)

Human noroviruses are a major cause for gastroenteritis outbreaks. Filter-feeding bivalve molluscs, which accumulate noroviruses in their digestive tissues, are a typical vector for human infection. RT-qPCR, the established method for human norovirus detection in food, does not allow discrimination between infectious and non-infectious viruses and can overestimate potentially infectious viral loads.

Author(s): J. Ortiz-Solà, I. Abadias, P. Colàs-Medà, M. Anguera, I. Viñas

M. Chan et al. We report a new norovirus GII.4 variant, GII.4 Hong Kong, with low-level circulation in 4 Eurasia countries since mid-2017. Amino acid substitutions in key residues on the virus capsid associated with the emergence of pandemic noroviruses suggest that GII.4 Hong Kong has the potential to become the next pandemic variant.

Noroviruses (NoV), rotaviruses (RVA), and adenoviruses (AdV) are the main viral agents responsible for acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in humans. We aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of four commercial immunochromatographic tests (ICTs) intended for the rapid and simultaneous detection of these three pathogens.

Human sapoviruses (HuSaVs) cause acute gastroenteritis similar to human noroviruses. Although HuSaVs were discovered four decades ago, no HuSaV has been grown in vitro, which has significantly impeded the understanding of viral biology and the development of antiviral strategies. In this study, we identified two susceptible human cell lines, that...

Characterizing diversity and the antigenic relatedness of norovirus remains a primary focus in understanding its biological properties and vaccine designs. The precise antigenic and serological features of GI genotypes have not been studied.

Background In the United States, surveillance of norovirus gastroenteritis is largely restricted to outbreaks, limiting our knowledge of the contribution of sporadic illness to the overall impact on reported outbreaks. Understanding norovirus transmission dynamics is vital for improving preventive measures, including norovirus vaccine development.

Influent wastewater and effluent wastewater at the Rya treatment plant in Gothenburg, Sweden, were continuously monitored for enteric viruses by quantitative PCR (qPCR) during 1 year. Viruses in effluent wastewater were also identified by next-generation sequencing (NGS) in samples collected during spring, early summer, and winter. Samples of incoming wastewater were collected every second week.

Pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients often suffer from gastro-intestinal (GI) disease caused by viruses, Graft-versus-Host Disease (GVHD) or a combination of the two. Currently, the GI eukaryotic virome of HSCT recipients remains relatively understudied, which complicates the understanding of its role in GVHD pathogenicity.

Author(s): Nutthawan Nonthabenjawan, Patcharaporn Boonyos, Benjarat Phattanawiboon, Worakarn Towayunanta, Kobkool Chuntrakool, Karn Ngaopravet, Kriangsak Ruchusatsawat, Ballang Uppapong, Somchai Sangkitporn, Eisuke Mekada, Yoshiharu Matsuura, Masashi Tatsumi, Hiroto Mizushima

This study focuses on foodborne outbreaks of microbial infection associated with fresh produce in Europe and North America from this millennium. A total of 277 outbreaks with 44,524 individual cases were identified. Foodborne pathogens associated with the most outbreak frequency include Cryptosporidium (20.5%) in Europe and Salmonella (52.2%) in North America although Norovirus (54.3%) and Salmonella (61.3%) were associated with the number of cases in Europe and North America respectively.

Norovirus enteritis can cause intractable diarrhea in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, for which there are no established treatments. We reviewed medical records of 9 SOT recipients at our center who received orally administered human immunoglobulin for norovirus enteritis, and it appeared to be an effective treatment modality.

Author(s): Matías Castells, Rubén Darío Caffarena, María Laura Casaux, Carlos Schild, Felipe Castells, Daniel Castells, Matías Victoria, Franklin Riet-Correa, Federico Giannitti, Viviana Parreño, Rodney Colina

Author(s): Mia C. Mattioli, Katharine M. Benedict, Jennifer Murphy, Amy Kahler, Kelly E. Kline, Allison Longenberger, Patrick K. Mitchell, Sharon Watkins, Philip Berger, Orin C. Shanks, Catherine E. Barrett, Leslie Barclay, Aron J. Hall, Vincent Hill, Andre Weltman

Plant-derived proteases, bromelain, papain, and ficin are broad-acting enzymes with generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status for foods and have current application in several food industries. These proteases have also been reported to have antimicrobial properties.

Author(s): Catherine Hennechart-Collette, Océane Dehan, Michel Laurentie, Audrey Fraisse, Sandra Martin-Latil, Sylvie Perelle

Norovirus food poisoning outbreaks in Korea (South) appeared in 2000s and have been increasing since then. We aimed to investigate the epidemiological features of norovirus food poisoning outbreaks in Korea over the past years (2002 ~ 2017), based on official food poisoning statistics and available reports, and to find their association with climate factors. Norovirus was the most common cause of food poisoning among known causative substances in Korea during the study period.

Background Diarrhea is common and associated with substantial morbidity among hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients, but the etiology is often not identified. Multiplexed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays increase the detection of diarrheal pathogens, but the impact of this technology in this population has not been evaluated.

by Lauren Korhonen, Jessica Cohen, Nicole Gregoricus, Monica M. Farley, Rebecca Perlmutter, Stacy M. Holzbauer, Ghinwa Dumyati, Zintars Beldavs, Ashley Paulick, Jan Vinjé, Brandi M. Limbago, Fernanda C. Lessa, Alice Y. Guh

Noroviruses are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis and food poisoning worldwide. In this study, we investigated the anti-noroviral activity of Lindera obtusiloba leaf extract (LOLE) using murine norovirus (MNV-1), a surrogate of human norovirus. Preincubation of MNV-1 with LOLE at 4, 8, or 12 mg/mL for 1 h at 25 °C significantly reduced viral infectivity, by 51.8%, 64.1%, and 71.2%, respectively.

Author(s): Hua'ning Zhang, Danlei Liu, Zilei Zhang, Joanne Hewitt, Xinpeng Li, Peibin Hou, Dapeng Wang, Qingping Wu

ABSTRACT Aims The efficacy of a novel photochemical method for generating chlorine dioxide (photoClO2) was evaluated against human noroviruses (HuNoV) surrogate, bacteriophage MS2, and Clostridium difficile endospores. Methods and Results Chlorine dioxide was generated by mixing 1% sodium chlorite with 10 parts‐per‐million (ppm) Eosin Y and irradiating with a photo‐activator‐excitable light. PhotoClO2 efficacy was assessed against bacteriophage MS2 and C.

Norovirus (NoV) is an important etiological agent of diarrhea in children and adults. In Mexico, NoV screening is not routinely performed. NoV is highly infectious and is responsible for massive outbreaks due to the consumption of contaminated food. The study was a cross-sectional design. Samples of diarrheal stools were collected from (62) children and (38) adults with acute gastroenteritis during 2013–2014.

Author(s): Chongzhen Sun, Jiayin Chen, Hui Li, Ling Fang, Shiwei Wu, Pallavi Jayavanth, Shuze Tang, Gloria Sanchez, Xiyang Wu

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to pose significant public health concerns. While research to deliver vaccines and antivirals are being pursued, various effective technologies to control its environmental spread are also being targeted. Ultraviolet light (UV-C) technologies are effective against a broad spectrum of microorganisms when used even on large surface areas.