Abstract:
Rotaviruses are well recognized as one of the principal etiologic agents of
acute diarrhea illness in human infants and young animals. There have been outbreaks
of food-borne gastroenteritis caused by rotaviruses in raw or slightly cooked shellfish.
A concentration method and a highly sensitive and specific technique are required to
detect the presence of viruses in food samples. This study aimed to develop a method
for the concentration of rotavirus and detection by nested reverse transcriptasepolymerase
chain reaction. In the seeding experiment, rotavirus was concentrated from
seeded oyster samples by means of acid adsorption, elution with 2.9% tryptose
phosphate broth in 6% glycine pH 9.0, two precipitations by polyethylene glycol, and
chloroform extraction. The RNA was extracted from the rotavirus and then detected
using nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The detection limit was
8 X 102 infectious forming units per gram, 1.43 X 102 per milliliter, and 0.7 per assay.
A DNA band appeared at the 346 base pair fragment. No cross-reactivity was found in
the presence of hepatitis A virus (≤ 3.36 X 103 radioimmunofocus assay units/ml) and
poliovirus (≤ 106; 50% tissue culture infective doses/ml). A total of 100 oyster samples
(Crassostrea belcheri) were collected from several markets in Bangkok and Patum
Thani Province. The samples were concentrated and RNA was extracted. The RNA
extract was then tested for the presence of rotavirus RNA using the nested reverse
transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. All oyster samples were found to be negative.
The oyster samples were then tested for contamination with fecal coliforms, including
E. coli, using the multiple tube fermentation method. Ninety three were found to be
contaminated with both fecal coliforms and E. coli, while one was only contaminated
with fecal coliforms. Fifty eight samples had fecal coliform contamination levels
higher than the government standard for raw shellfish (most probable number of
<20/g), ranging between 21 and 540 per gram. It is notable that, of the 42 oyster
samples below the acceptable level for fecal coliforms, 35 had high E. coli most
probable number values in the range of 1.8 to 17 per gram.
The present study indicated that the combination of the virus concentration
method and nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction method was
efficient in the detection of rotavirus in oyster samples. The oyster samples collected
from several markets were safe for rotavirus. However, most oyster samples from
local markets in Bangkok and Patum Thani Province were contaminated with fecal
coliforms and E. coli. This could indicate a health risk for gastroenteritis illness for
consumers who ate raw or only slightly cooked oysters.