Abstract
This study investigates the effects of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment (1.1 kV, 43 kHz, N2 1.5 L/min, 10~60 min) on human norovirus (HuNoV) GII.4 infectivity in fresh oysters. HuNoV viability in oysters was assessed by using propidium monoazide (PMA) as a nucleic acid intercalating dye before performing a real-time reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Additionally, the impact of the DBD plasma treatment on pH and Hunter colors was assessed. When DBD plasma was treated for 60 min, the HuNoV genomic titer reduction without PMA pretreatment was negligible (<1 log copy number/µL), whereas when PMA treatment was used, HuNoV titer was reduced to >1 log copy number/µL in just 30 min. D1 and D2-value of HuNoV infectivity were calculated as 36.5 and 73.0 min of the DBD plasma treatment, respectively, using the first-order kinetics model (R2 = 0.98). The pH and Hunter colors were not significantly different (p > 0.05) between the untreated and DBD-plasma-treated oysters. The results suggest that PMA/RT-qPCR could help distinguish HuNoV infectivity without negatively affecting oyster quality following >30 min treatment with DBD plasma. Moreover, the inactivation kinetics of nonthermal DBD plasma against HuNoV in fresh oysters might provide basic information for oyster processing and distribution.
Highlights
Human norovirus (HuNoV), a nonenveloped and single-stranded RNA virus, is a member of the Caliciviridae family
The oyster homogenates inoculated with HuNoV GII.4 were treated with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma for
Without DBD plasma treatment, the initial HuNoV titer recovered from oyster homogenates was 5.51 copy number/μL; the recovery rate was 84.77% [(5.51/6.50 × 100)]
Summary
Human norovirus (HuNoV), a nonenveloped and single-stranded RNA virus, is a member of the Caliciviridae family. The first outbreak of HuNoV was discovered in the USA in Norwalk, Ohio, in 1968, and since HuNoV has been considered a significant cause of vomiting and acute gastroenteritis every year [1]. HuNoV causes acute gastroenteritis, and the main symptoms of infection include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pain. HuNoV affects all ages, and HuNoV gastroenteritis heals naturally within 1 to 3 days. HuNoV outbreaks are related to interpersonal contact, airborne routes, and the consumption of contaminated foods, and 70–80% of all outbreaks are related to the GII. genotype [2]. Foodborne transmission of HuNoV includes fresh fruits and vegetables treated with contaminated sewage water during the production and consumption of contaminated shellfish
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