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A Rapid Strategy for the Isolation of New Faustoviruses from Environmental Samples Using Vermamoeba vermiformis
Published on: June 4, 2016
Human sapovirus in clams, Japan
Grant S Hansman1, Tomoichiro Oka, Reiko Okamoto
1National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan. ghansman@nih.go.jp
Emerging Infectious Diseases
|June 8, 2007
Summary
Human sapovirus was detected in clams, marking the first food contamination finding. This suggests a potential food-to-human transmission route for the virus causing gastroenteritis.
Area of Science:
- Food safety
- Virology
- Public health
Background:
- Sapovirus is a significant cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide.
- Previous studies have primarily focused on human-to-human transmission.
- The potential for foodborne transmission of sapovirus remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence of human sapovirus in commercially available clam products.
- To determine if food vehicles could be a source of sapovirus infection.
- To explore potential links between contaminated food and human gastroenteritis cases.
Main Methods:
- Detection of sapovirus RNA in clam samples using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
- Sequence analysis of detected sapovirus strains for genetic characterization.
- Comparison of viral sequences with those found in human gastroenteritis patients.
Main Results:
- Human sapovirus was identified in 4 out of 57 (7%) tested clam packages.
- This is the first documented instance of sapovirus contamination in a food product.
- Sequences from clams showed close genetic similarity to strains found in Japanese patients with gastroenteritis.
Conclusions:
- Shellfish, such as clams, can be contaminated with human sapovirus.
- Foodborne transmission of sapovirus is a plausible route for human infection.
- Findings highlight the need for enhanced surveillance and control measures in food production.
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