IAFP 2009 Program Book and Abstract Book - AB92

P1-82 Effect of Broad Spectrum Fertilizers on Human Picornaviruses DSC KYLEIGH GLOSKA, Kirsten A. Hirneisen and Kalmia E. Kniel University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA Introduction: Contamination of ground waters by pathogenic microorganisms is common in many areas of the United States and public health concerns are increasingly focused on viruses. Enteric viruses are shed from their animal or human hosts into the environment and have the potential to survive, persist, and be transported by various routes to infect their new host. In agriculture, one means of transmission is water applied to crops through pesticide or fertilizer application. Purpose: This assay was designed to determine the sensitivity of two environmentally-transmitted human picornaviruses, hepatitis A virus (HAV) and Aichi virus (AiV), to commonly used plant fertilizers. While HAV and AiV are similar in morphology, they differ in response to common inactivation measures. Methods: Virus infectivity was first assessed with a traditional biocide testing method. Six broad spectrum fertilizers were evaluated (ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, calcium nitrate, urea, Peters Excel, Triple Super Phosphate). Fertilizers were mixed according to manufacturer’s instructions with sterile water. Viruses (10 µl) were dried (30 min) onto glass coverslips (7.2 log TCID50/ml AiV and 6.8 log TCID50/ml HAV), treated with the fertilizer (250 µl), and incubated for 10 min before neutralization with 750 µl of Letheen broth. Virus was recovered from the coverslips and infectivity assessed by TCID50. Control virus was assessed in each trial using water and Letheen broth only. Results: Overall HAV was slightly more sensitive to the fertilizers, with reductions of > 1 log TCID50/ml for 5 out of 6 fertilizers. Calcium nitrite and urea showed the greatest reductions of 1.5 log TCID50/ml of HAV and AiV, respectively. Both ammonium sulfate and urea gave < 0.99 log TCID50/ml reduction of HAV. Peters Excel resulted in < 0.73 log TCID50/ml reduction of AiV. Significance: The use of fertilizers may not inactivate viruses in contaminated water. Further assessment of virus in fertilizer preparations, in contaminated soil and on plants is under way. P1-83 Norovirus: Foodborne or Pandemic Pathogen? DSC MOSHE S. DREYFUSS Walden University, Minneapolis, MN, USA Introduction: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers norovirus to cause the largest number of foodborne-related gastroenteritis cases in the United States. The association of norovirus with foodborne outbreaks through its collection tool focuses on the food worker as the typical source. Yet, many norovirus outbreaks are not foodborne in nature. Purpose: This study examined the strength of association between food workers and food to norovirus in comparison to bacteria associated with foodborne-related gastroenteritis by whether norovirus had a direct (physical evidence), indirect (statistical evidence), or suspect (neither of the two) association with food or foodhandlers. The gap in the research is the evidence supporting the theory that norovirus transmission is the same as bacterial transmission. Methods: This study determined the statistical association of outbreak related details from the electronic Foodborne Outbreak Reporting System (eFORS) between 1998 and 2006. Results: The data showed norovirus were not associated with any specific foods related to outbreaks. It did show a high odds ratio of noroviral outbreaks indirectly related to food workers when compared with bacterial based (Salmonellaassociated) outbreaks (OR = 15.84 ((CL 8.87 to 28.30), (P < 0.01)), but only a slightly similar one when directly related to food workers (OR = 1.41 (CL 1.11 to 1.78)) with Salmonella (P < 0.01). Yet the odds ratio of noroviral outbreaks directly or indirectly related to food, compared with Salmonella-associated outbreaks, was close to zero (OR = 0.40 ((CL 0.3117 to 0.5201), (P < 0.05) and OR = 0.28 (CL 0.2121 to 0.3648), (P < 0.01)), respectively). The data showed no similarity between proportion of the implicated and non-implicated numbers of outbreaks from norovirus and those from Salmonella. The analysis also showed a stronger similarity between proportions of food-handler implicated outbreaks from norovirus than from Salmonella. Significance: An analysis showed, though, a significant emphasis was placed not on the food handler but on other indirect routes of transmision of norovirus in outbreaks. The analysis also indicated that norovirus transmission was not mainly through food. Norovirus transmission appeared to be person-to-person rather than through food and had more similarities to pandemic influenza than to transmission through gastroenteritis-associated bacteria. A change in surveillance of norovirus by health agencies could change food sanitation and general personal hygiene behaviors in person-to-person contact situations. P1-84 Fate of Murine Norovirus-1 during Dairy Manure-based Composting DSC JIE WEI, Yan Jin, Tom Sims and Kalmia E. Kniel University of Delaware, Animal and Food Sciences, Newark, DE, USA Introduction: Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the US, and recent studies have shown that norovirus can be shed by cattle and swine, with possible zoonotic transmission in the food chain. The application of manure on agricultural land could result in crop contamination. Composting is the common means of reducing pathogens in manure; however, little is known about the fate of norovirus during the composting processing, and such knowledge is important for agriculture practices. Purpose: To determine the loss of infectivity of norovirus during the composting process. Poster 92 — Abstract Book

IAFP 2009 Program Book and Abstract Book

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