Detection of rotavirus in raw and ready-to-eat food samples

Rotavirus infection is a common cause of acute gastroenteritis. Since transmission generally occurs person-to-person via the fekal-oral route, the importance of foodborne transmission can be underestimated. Food can be contaminated with rotavirus at any stage of the food processing, from farm to fork. In this study, 105 food samples of animal origin were collected from seafood (mussels, fish, etc.), red meat (sausage, meatballs, etc.), and poultry meat (ham, wings, etc.). The samples were tested for rotavirus by RT-PCR. Virus isolation, sequencing and phylogenetic analyses were performed for positive samples. Rotavirus was detected in two mussel sample groups by RT-PCR. DNA sequence analysis was carried out for both the VP4 and VP7 gene regions of the rotavirus in one sample and determined that it was a group A human rotavirus G1P[8]. Rotavirus isolation did not occur after the inoculation of the samples onto MA-104 cell culture. This study demonstrated the presence of rotavirus in raw mussel samples in the market.