Common and Potential Emerging Foodborne Viruses: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Human viruses and viruses from animals can cause illnesses in humans after the consumption of contaminated food or water. Contamination may occur during preparation by infected food handlers, during food production because of unsuitably controlled working conditions, or following the consumption of animal-based foods contaminated by a zoonotic virus. This review discussed the recent information available on the general and clinical characteristics of viruses, viral foodborne outbreaks and control strategies to prevent the viral contamination of food products and water. Viruses are responsible for the greatest number of illnesses from outbreaks caused by food, and risk assessment experts regard them as a high food safety priority. This concern is well founded, since a significant increase in viral foodborne outbreaks has occurred over the past 20 years. Norovirus, hepatitis A and E viruses, rotavirus, astrovirus, adenovirus, and sapovirus are the major common viruses associated with water or foodborne illness outbreaks. It is also suspected that many human viruses including Aichi virus, Nipah virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, H5N1 avian influenza viruses, and coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV) also have the potential to be transmitted via food products. It is evident that the adoption of strict hygienic food processing measures from farm to table is required to prevent viruses from contaminating our food.

The Influence of Technological Shifts in the Food Chain on the Emergence of Foodborne Pathogens: An Overview

“…Several emerging foodborne pathogens have emerged in the past few decades. These include bacteria such as Aeromonas spp., Arcobacter butzleri, Burkholderia gladioli pathovar cocovenenans, Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter spp., Cronobacter spp., Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium difficile, Clostridium perfringens, Helicobacter pylori, Helicobacter pullorum, Helicobacter canadensis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Staphylococccus aureus, Streptococcus spp., V. cholera, Vibrio vulnificus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Yersinia enterocolitica; viruses such as adenovirus, astrovirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis E, norovirus, rotavirus and sapovirus; and parasites such as Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Taenia spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Trichinella spiralis [1,14,[22][23][24][25][26].…”

“…Even if a zoonotic agent is unable to establish itself and spread quickly from person to person, other factors, including the environment, can facilitate its spread (e.g., nosocomial infections), leading to the emergence of food as a vehicle for pathogen transmission [30,32,34,35]. Therefore, it is expected that new foodborne pathogens will emerge in the future, with it being theorized that these will be mainly zoonotic pathogens due to several factors, including the interaction between humans and animals, the consumption of raw and processed food products of animal origin, the intensive global animal production, the unsuitable disposal of waste, environmental changes, uncontrolled human population settlements, and poor sanitary conditions [22,25,36].…”