title: Evaluation of murine norovirus persistence in environments relevant to food production and processing.
abstract: Human norovirus (NoV) causes outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis associated with many ready-to-eat foods, including fresh produce. Effective inactivation procedures must consider virus survival under conditions of produce production and processing. This study aimed to investigate the  persistence of NoV in a variety of environments, using murine NoV (MNV) as a surrogate for NoV. MNV was incubated for up to 42 days at room temperature on stainless steel disks, on lettuce, on soil, and in potable water and titers determined by plaque assay. A 1-log reduction of MNV infectivity  was observed after 29 days in water, 4 days on lettuce, 12 days on soil, and 15 days on stainless steel disks. MNV survived longer in water than in any of the other environments, indicating that drying may contribute to NoV inactivation. MNV genomes were not significantly reduced for up to  42 days, suggesting that genomic detection is not a reliable indicator of viability. Overall, our findings provide valuable information regarding the potential for NoV transmission in the food supply.
authors: Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada, Sir F. G. Banting Research Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0K9.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Fallahi
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Mattison
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D018545:Lactuca / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D050296:Microbial Viability; D029322:Norovirus / Q000254:growth & development*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013193:Stainless Steel; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D013193:Stainless Steel