Potential risk of norovirus infection due to the consumption of "ready to eat" food

Food Environ Virol. 2012 Sep;4(3):89-92. doi: 10.1007/s12560-012-9081-1. Epub 2012 Jun 29.

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the presence of enteric viruses such as norovirus (NoV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis E virus (HEV), and adenovirus (HAdV), in vegetables available on the Italian markets. For this aim, 110 national and international "ready to eat" samples were collected and analyzed by biomolecular tests and positive samples were confirmed by sequencing. All samples (100 %) were negative for HAV, HEV, and HAdV, while 13.6 % (15/110) were positive for NoV. Actually there is not a formal surveillance system for NoV infections in Italy but we clearly demonstrated a potential risk associated with the consumption of "ready to eat" vegetables. This study confirmed for the first time in Italy the presence of norovirus in semi-dried tomatoes by PCR technique.

MeSH terms

  • Consumer Product Safety
  • Fast Foods / virology*
  • Food Contamination / analysis*
  • Food Handling
  • Food Microbiology*
  • Hepatitis A virus / isolation & purification
  • Hepatitis E virus / isolation & purification
  • Humans
  • Italy
  • Norovirus / isolation & purification*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Risk Factors
  • Solanum lycopersicum / virology