Quantitative Detection of Hepatitis A, Rotavirus and Genogroup I Norovirus by RT-qPCR in Fresh Produce from Packinghouse Facilities

L. Felix-Valenzuela, M. Resendiz-Sandoval, A. Burgara-Estrella, J. Hernández, V. Mata-Haro*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

Food-borne outbreaks caused by virus have been associated with the consumption of fresh produce. However, it is difficult to track the source of contamination due to the lack of sensitive methods of detection. In this study, we evaluated the presence of norovirus (NoV), rotavirus (RV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) in fresh produce from the northwestern part of Mexico by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Fresh produce was sampled from field and packinghouse facilities during different stages of the packing process. Surfaces of equipment, as well as water used for disinfection were also sampled. A total of 46 samples were analyzed for the quantification of virus: HAV was found in 28.2% of the samples, NoV in 32.6% and RV in 13.0%. Eleven samples were positive with at least two different viruses. These results show a high prevalence of these viruses in fresh produce and highlight the need to establish further virological surveys for this kind of products.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)467-473
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Food Safety
Volume32
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2012
Externally publishedYes

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