Molecular characterization of the first reported Aichivirus A in Australia

A novel real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-rPCR) assay was developed to detect Aichivirus A (AiV-A) based on four complete genomes. The assay successfully detected AiV-A in a sample from a patient with acute gastroenteritis in January 2008. Screening of 756 samples submitted for norovirus testing during May 2008 detected a further 23 AiV-A-positive samples from 18 individual patients. Genotyping using novel primers targeting the 3C-3D junction region identified AiV-A genotype B. Further sequencing of the VP1 region supported the 3C-3D result. All three assays proved useful to support foodborne outbreak investigations. This is the first report of AiV-A detection in Australia.