Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (Mar 2023)

Prevalence of foodborne viruses and influenza A virus from poultry processing plants to retailed chickens

  • Daseul Yeo,
  • Mengxiao Song,
  • Md. Iqbal Hossain,
  • Soontag Jung,
  • Zhaoqi Wang,
  • Dong Joo Seo,
  • Min Suk Rhee,
  • Changsun Choi,
  • Changsun Choi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1113743
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7

Abstract

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IntroductionFoodborne viruses are a serious concern in public health. This study investigated the prevalence of eight foodborne viruses norovirus (NoV), adenovirus (AdV), sapovirus (SapoV), astrovirus, hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis E virus (HEV), rotavirus, aichivirus, and influenza A virus (IAV).Material and methodA total of 316 chicken samples were collected from three poultry processing plants to commercial markets (local and online). RT-qPCR- and PCR-positive amplicons obtained from monitoring were confirmed by sequence analysis.ResultsFoodborne viruses and IAV were not found in poultry processing plants. Of the 100 chickens purchased from the local and online markets, 19 (19.0%) AdV and 2 (2.0%) SapoV were detected. NoV, astrovirus, HAV, HEV, rotavirus, aichivirus, and IAV were not detected in the retailed chickens. Phylogenetic analysis identified 18 human AdV-41, one porcine AdV, and two SapoV-GI.1. It was the first case of the discovery of the SapoV gene in chicken. The average contamination level of detected AdV was 2.4 log DNA copies/g, but there were cases where the highest level was 5.35 log DNA copies/g.DiscussionThis study highlights the importance of chicken's contribution to the transmission of AdV with the possibility of annual variability with emerging symptoms. The prevention of AdV contamination in the food chain from slaughterhouses to retail markets should be monitored and controlled in further study.

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