S06 - Foodborne Viruses and Foodborne Viral Infections: Disease Burden, Epidemiology, Detection, and Transmission

Macleod A
Sponsored by: ISLI N.A.
Organizers: Catherine Nnoka and Lee-Ann Jaykus
Convenors: Lee-Ann Jaykus, Les Smoot, and Martin Wiedmann

1:30 Foodborne Viruses: Introduction to the Topic and Disease Burden, Epidemiology, and Attribution — Stephan Monroe, CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA

2:00 Using a Tiered Approach to Employee Health Guidelines to Address the Control of Norovirus in the FDA 2005 Food Code — Jack Guzewich, FDA-CFSAN, College Park, MD, USA

2:30 Surveillance for Foodborne Viral Infection: A European Perspective — Marion Koopmans, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Netherlands

3:00 Break

3:30 Harmonization of Sampling, Detection, and Subtyping Methods for Foodborne Viruses — David Lees, CEFAS Weymouth Laboratory, Weymouth, Dorset, UK

4:00 Survival and Persistence of Enteric Foodborne Viruses on Fresh Fruit and Vegetables — Gail Greening, Institue of Environmental Science and Research, Ltd., Porirua, New Zealand

4:30 The Impact of Virus Survival, Persistence, and Transfer on the Transmission and Risk of Foodborne Disease — Lee-Ann Jaykus, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

Abstract
Enteric viral pathogens have been estimated to cause about 9.3 million foodborne disease cases, including 129 deaths annually in the United States alone. While foodborne disease surveillance and prevention efforts traditionally have focused on bacterial and parasitic pathogens, the importance of viral pathogens is increasingly recognized. This symposium will provide an overview of the nature, epidemiology and transmission of foodborne viral infections, including updates on surveillance systems used for viral foodborne diseases. Since enteric viruses can be transmitted by a variety of pathways, including foods, attribution of viral infections to specific transmission routes and in the case of foodborne disease, specific foods, will also be discussed. Examples of current research efforts to characterize survival, persistence, transmission, and risk of enteric viruses and their diseases also will be presented. Attendees of this session will gain a better understanding of foodborne viral infections and their human health impact as well as the challenges associated with the detection and characterization of viral foodborne pathogens.