Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Alimentarius, in particular, Guidelines for the Validation of Food Safety Control
Measures (Codex Alimentarius
2008
). Yet, imported foods are actively sought by an
increasing exotic appetite in the developed world. Without proper surveillance activ-
ity, many viral agents can move freely across borders without detection (Buisson
et al.
2008
; Jebara
2004
).
6.2
Viruses in Food
The diverse nature of the viruses listed in Table
6.1
suggests that each possesses
unique physical characteristics, causes a diverse array of symptoms, persists in the
host and environment, and has a number of routes for spread. However, they all
share common properties that are indicative of the necessary means for control:
1. They are abundant in nature.
2. They are common to several or all areas of the world.
3. They can easily be transferred either through contaminated water or through the
fecal-oral route.
Adenoviruses
: The adenoviruses are a group of double-stranded DNA viruses that
are known pathogens of humans. Most documented cases are respiratory in
nature, however, two particular strains, Ad40 and Ad41 have been implicated in
gastroenteritis and foodborne transmission in many areas of the globe (Ahluwalia
et al.
1994
; Aminu et al.
2007
; Brown
1990
; Bryden et al.
1997
; Dey et al.
2009
;
Grimwood et al.
1995
; Herrmann et al.
1988
; Johansson et al.
1994
; Saderi et al.
2002
; Shinozaki et al.
1991a
; Tiemessen et al.
1989
) particularly in children under
2 years of age (Shinozaki et al.
1991b
; Uhnoo et al.
1984
). The main source of
these viruses is unsafe water, which can either contaminate fi sh or produce
through irrigation. For example, Hansman et al. (
2008
) identifi ed that 52 % of 33
packages of clams collected from Japanese markets were positive for adenoviruses.
Similarly, Cheong et al. (
2009
) found the presence of adenoviruses on spinach,
lettuce, and chicory; a result of irrigation with unsafe water. Based on laboratory
studies of the persistence of these viruses on foods, there was no signifi cant loss of
infectivity after 1 week (Verhaelen et al.
2012
). A similar study by Diez-Valcarce
et al. (
2012
) showed that 36 % of the mussels sampled from three European coun-
tries had the presence of the gastrointestinal adenoviruses.
Aichi virus
: First discovered in 1989 (Yamashita et al.
1991
), this virus is a member
of the Picornaviridae family in the Kobuvirus genus. Over the last two decades, the
aichi viruses have demonstrated their signifi cance as a foodborne pathogen world-
wide (Goyer et al.
2008
; Jonsson et al.
2012
; Kaikkonen et al.
2010
; Oh et al.
2006
;
Reuter et al.
2009
; Ribes et al.
2010
; Sdiri-Loulizi et al.
2009
; Verma et al.
2011
;
Yang et al.
2009
). The main sources of the virus are unsafe water and sewage (Alcala
et al.
2010
; Di Martino et al.
2013
; Kitajima et al.
2011
; Sdiri-Loulizi et al.
2010
)
and production of foods with such waters results in the potential for infection at the
