Foodborne virus research

Report of a microbiological survey of foodborne pathogens in pre-packaged (bagged) fresh-cut ready-to-eat leafy salads.

Update of a report made in 2011, with surveillance data for the 2013 year and updated estimates.

The purpose of a Risk Profile is to provide contextual and background information relevant
to a food/hazard combination so that risk managers can make decisions and, if necessary,
take further action.
Enteric viruses other than hepatitis A virus and Norwalklike viruses have occasionally been implicated in foodborne disease. These include: Rotaviruses, astroviruses, hepatitis E virus, picornaviruses, adenoviruses and parvoviruses.

The aim of this report is to describe the epidemiology, investigation and control of a hepatitis A (HAV) outbreak in New Zealand. Descriptive and analytical epidemiology, virology, product traceback and an orchard investigation were carried out

Methods for detecting viruses (norovirus and Hepatitis A) which are increasingly associated with foodborne illness are lacking for foods commonly implicated in outbreaks. This paper documents the development of a suitable method, the direct Trizol method with short column–based RNA purification. Further work to validate and establish limits of detection and reproducibility will be required before the method can be used for routine analysis.