Feline calicivirus as a model system for heat inactivation studies of small round structured viruses in shellfish

Commercial heat treatment procedures for molluscan shellfish are based on data obtained for the inactivation of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in cockles. However, the most frequently reported illness associated with consumption of bivalve molluscs is gastroenteritis caused by small round structured viruse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Epidemiology and infection 1998-10, Vol.121 (2), p.401-407
Main Authors: SLOMKA, M. J., APPLETON, H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action of physical and chemical agents
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Caliciviridae Infections
Calicivirus, Feline - pathogenicity
Cats
Feline calicivirus
Fish and seafood industries
Food Contamination - prevention & control
Food industries
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gastroenteritis
Heat treatment
Hot Temperature
Marine
Meats
Microbiology
Mollusca
Norwalk virus
Norwalk virus - pathogenicity
Polymerase chain reaction
Product category rules
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
RNA
Shellfish
Shellfish - virology
Virology
Viruses
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Summary:Commercial heat treatment procedures for molluscan shellfish are based on data obtained for the inactivation of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in cockles. However, the most frequently reported illness associated with consumption of bivalve molluscs is gastroenteritis caused by small round structured viruses (SRSVs) of the Norwalk group. Conditions for inactivation of SRSVs are unknown. In this study a feline calicivirus was used as a model for the SRSV group and conditions for its heat inactivation determined. Experiments showed that feline calicivirus is more readily inactivated in shellfish than HAV, and confirmed that current heating recommendations to the UK shellfish industry are adequate. A reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for the detection of calicivirus in shellfish was developed and results compared with isolation in cell culture. The RT-PCR detected virus in some samples that failed to yield virus on culture. This has important implications if molecular virology techniques are to be used in the design and monitoring of shellfish treatment procedures and for routine testing of food samples.
ISSN:0950-2688
1469-4409
DOI:10.1017/S0950268898001290