Interactions Between Infectious Foodborne Viruses and Bacterial Biofilms Formed on Different Food Contact Surfaces

Abstract

Bacterial biofilms contribute to contamination, spoilage, persistence, and hygiene failure in the food industry, but relatively little is known about the behavior of foodborne viruses evolving in the complex communities that make up biofilm. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between enteric viruses and biofilms on food contact surfaces. Formed biofilms of mono- and multispecies cultures were prepared on glass, stainless steel, and polystyrene coupons and 105 pfu/ml of murine norovirus, rotavirus, and hepatitis A virus were added and incubated for 15 min, 90 min, and 24 h. The data obtained clearly demonstrate that the presence of biofilms generally influences the adhesion of enteric viruses to different surfaces. Many significant increases in attachment rates were observed, particularly with rotavirus whose rate of viral infectious particles increased 7000 times in the presence of Pseudomonas fluorescens on polystyrene after 24 h of incubation and with hepatitis A virus, which seems to have an affinity for the biofilms formed by lactic acid bacteria. Murine norovirus seems to be the least influenced by the presence of biofilms with few significant increases. However, the different factors surrounding this association are unknown and seem to vary according to the viruses, the environmental conditions, and the composition of the biofilm.

Exploring the occurrence of Listeria in biofilms and deciphering the bacterial community in a frozen vegetable producing environment

“…For instance, significantly more biomass of Acinetobacter baumannii accumulated on polycarbonate compared to other surface materials such as glass, rubber, porcelain and polypropylene in a study ( Greene et al, 2016 ). An increased albeit not significant biofilm formation of Pseudomonas fluorescens was observed on polystyrene compared to glass and stainless steel ( Gagné et al, 2022 ). However, the factors influencing attachment and biofilm formation on different surface materials are complex.…”

SARS-CoV-2 transmission via maritime cold chains: A statistical analysis of nucleic acid detection results of cold chain food imported from Fuzhou ports

“…A statistical investigation of the microbial safety test data for domestic and imported fish products in the United States from 1998 to 2018 revealed that Listeria was the most frequent cause of fish product recalls whereas Salmonella was the main bacterial cause of fish-related foodborne infections [ 56 ]. Researchers suggested that several foodborne viruses, including cyclic virus and hepatitis A virus, can be bacterial biofilms on food surfaces [ 57 ]. This markedly enhanced adherence of foodborne viruses to food surfaces.…”

The potential role of micro- and nanoplastics in the spread of viruses

“…Gagne и соавт. [64] исследовали связь между кишечными вирусами (вирусом гепатита А и ротавирусами) и бактериальными биоплёнками, сформированными на разных поверхностях, в том числе полистироловой, контактирующими с пищевыми продуктами. Эти вирусы являются основной причиной вспышек болезней пищевого происхождения.…”

“…Gagne и соавт. [64] показали, что наличие биоплёнки на полистироловых поверхностях способствует адгезии кишечных вирусов. В присутствии бактерий Pseudomonas fluorescens, напри-мер, в 7000 раз увеличивалась скорость прикрепления ротавируса к пластиковой поверхности после 24-часовой инкубации.…”