09 Sep Norovirus Highly Prevalent In and Transmitted By Raw Oysters
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Yongjie Wang PhD
College of Food Science and Technology
Shanghai Ocean University
Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Aquatic Products on Storage & Preservation Ministry of Agriculture
Shanghai China
Medical Research: What is the background for this study?
Dr Wang: Norovirus (NoVs) are recognized as the most important food-borne viruses. They cause acute gastroenteritis in humans and infect people of all ages across the world. In our previous study, we found that approximate 90% of human norovirus sequences were discovered in the coastal regions in China, which likely result from the consumption of NoV-contaminated oysters. Oysters are well recognized as the main vectors of environmentally transmitted noroviruses, and disease outbreaks linked to oyster consumption have been commonly observed.
In order to gain a better understanding of how noroviruses are transmitted via oysters in the environment, we examined the genetic variants associated with oyster-related NoV outbreaks.
Medical Research: What are the main findings?
Dr Wang: A high degree of genetic diversity was observed for oyster-related noroviruses, and almost all the human norovirus genotypes were found in oyster-related norovirus sequences. These sequences were widely but unevenly distributed geographically, and most of them were detected in coastal regions. A higher frequency of GI strains was found in oyster-related than in human-related NoV sequences, while the yearly distributions of oyster-related sequences and human outbreak sequences were similar, indicating that oysters may act as a reservoir of noroviruses in the environment.
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr Wang: To avoid getting infected by norovirus, do not contact and consume raw shellfish, especially oysters.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr Wang: First, determine how oysters enrich diverse norovirus genotypes.
Second, develop strategies to prevent norovirus contamination of oysters and norovirus transmission through oysters.
Citation:
Yongxin Yu, Hui Cai, Linghao Hu, Rongwei Lei, Yingjie Pan, Shuling Yan, and Yongjie Wang
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Yongjie Wang PhD (2015). Norovirus Highly Prevalent In and Transmitted By Raw Oysters MedicalResearch.com
Last Updated on September 9, 2015 by Marie Benz MD FAAD