Detection of hepatitis A virus in shellfish by nested reverse transcription-PCR

1999 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Croci ◽  
D De Medici ◽  
G Morace ◽  
A Fiore ◽  
C Scalfaro ◽  
...  
1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 322-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Arnal ◽  
Virginie Ferre-Aubineau ◽  
Berangere Mignotte ◽  
Berthe Marie Imbert-Marcille ◽  
Sylviane Billaudel

ABSTRACT To quantify hepatitis A virus (HAV) in experimentally contaminated mussels, we developed an internal standard RNA with a 7-nucleotide deletion for competitive reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. Deposited directly into the sample, this standard was used both as extraction control and as quantification tool. After coextraction and competitive RT-PCR, standard and wild-type products were detected by differential hybridization with specific probes and a DNA enzyme immunoassay. The quantifiable range with this reproducible method was 104 to 107 copies of HAV/gram or 400 to 106 50% tissue culture infective doses/ml.


2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 5624-5626 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. C. Shan ◽  
P. Wolffs ◽  
M. W. Griffiths

ABSTRACT In this study, an immunomagnetic capture method and a real-time reverse transcription-PCR assay were used to quantify hepatitis A virus (HAV) in green onion and strawberry rinses. This combined protocol detected as low as 0.5 PFU HAV in produce rinses and concentrated HAV levels up to 20-fold.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
William S. Probert ◽  
Jill K. Hacker

ABSTRACTLaboratory surveillance plays an important role in the detection and control of hepatitis A outbreaks and requires the application of rapid and accurate molecular diagnostic tools for hepatitis A virus (HAV) RNA detection, subgenotype identification, and sequence-based genotyping. We describe the development and validation of a triplex real-time, reverse transcription-PCR (triplex rRT-PCR) assay for the identification and discrimination of HAV subgenotypes IA, IB, and IIIA and a singleplex rRT-PCR assay designed to detect all HAV genotypes infecting humans. Overall, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the new assays were >97% for serum and plasma specimens collected during unrelated outbreaks of HAV in California and Michigan compared to a nested RT-PCR genotyping assay and the ISO 15216-1 rRT-PCR method for HAV detection. The new assays will permit the rapid detection of HAV RNA and discrimination among subgenotypes IA, IB, and IIIA in serum and plasma specimens, which will strengthen public health surveillance efforts for HAV outbreak detection and response.


2015 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 1046-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
SANG-MU KO ◽  
BIPIN VAIDYA ◽  
JOSEPH KWON ◽  
HEE-MIN LEE ◽  
MYUNG-JOO OH ◽  
...  

Outbreaks of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections are most frequently associated with the consumption of contaminated oysters. A rapid and selective concentration method is necessary for the recovery of HAV from contaminated oysters prior to detection using PCR. In this study, ricin extracted from castor beans (Ricinus communis) was tested as an alternative to antibody used in immunomagnetic separation while concentrating HAV prior to its detection using reverse transcription PCR. Initially, the extracted proteins from castor beans were fractionated into 13 fractions by gel filtration chromatography. Pretreatment of different protein fractions showed a variation in binding of HAV viral protein (VP) 1 to oyster digestive tissue in the range of 25.9 to 63.9%. The protein fraction, which caused the highest reduction in binding of VP1 to the tissue, was identified as ricin A by quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Ricin A could significantly inhibit binding of VP1 to the tissue with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 4.5 μg/ml and a maximal inhibitory concentration of 105.2%. The result showed that the rate of inhibition of HAV binding to tissue was higher compared to the rate of ricin itself binding to HAV (slope: 0.0029 versus 0.00059). However, ricin A concentration showed a higher correlation to the relative binding of ricin itself to HAV than the inhibition of binding of HAV to the tissue (coefficient of determination, R2: 0.9739 versus 0.6804). In conclusion, ricin A–linked magnetic bead separation combined with reverse transcription PCR can successfully detect HAV in artificially seeded oyster digestive tissue up to a 10−4 dilution of the virus stock (titer: 104 50% tissue culture infective dose per ml).


2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (12) ◽  
pp. 5593-5600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Jean ◽  
Burton Blais ◽  
André Darveau ◽  
Ismaı̈l Fliss

ABSTRACT A nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) technique for the detection of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in foods was developed and compared to the traditional reverse transcription (RT)-PCR technique. Oligonucleotide primers targeting the VP1 and VP2 genes encoding the major HAV capsid proteins were used for the amplification of viral RNA in an isothermal process resulting in the accumulation of RNA amplicons. Amplicons were detected by hybridization with a digoxigenin-labeled oligonucleotide probe in a dot blot assay format. Using the NASBA, as little as 0.4 ng of target RNA/ml was detected per comparison to 4 ng/ml for RT-PCR. When crude HAV viral lysate was used, a detection limit of 2 PFU (4 × 102 PFU/ml) was obtained with NASBA, compared to 50 PFU (1 × 104PFU/ml) obtained with RT-PCR. No interference was encountered in the amplification of HAV RNA in the presence of excess nontarget RNA or DNA. The NASBA system successfully detected HAV recovered from experimentally inoculated samples of waste water, lettuce, and blueberries. Compared to RT-PCR and other amplification techniques, the NASBA system offers several advantages in terms of sensitivity, rapidity, and simplicity. This technique should be readily adaptable for detection of other RNA viruses in both foods and clinical samples.


2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 742-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kellogg J. Schwab ◽  
Frederick H. Neill ◽  
Françoise Le Guyader ◽  
Mary K. Estes ◽  
Robert L. Atmar

ABSTRACT Outbreaks of food- and waterborne gastroenteritis are being increasingly reported throughout the world. The analysis of environmental samples by newer diagnostic techniques such as reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) amplification of nucleic acid has begun to identify human enteric viruses (predominantly “Norwalk-like” viruses [NLVs]) as the cause of many of these outbreaks. To streamline NLV detection from environmental samples such as shellfish, we have developed an RT-PCR–oligoprobe amplification and detection method using several new procedures that enable confirmed RT-PCR amplification and product detection in 1 day. The new steps include replacing reverse transcriptase and Taq polymerase with rTth polymerase, a heat-stable enzyme that functions as both a reverse transcriptase and DNA polymerase, in a single-tube, single-buffer, elevated temperature reaction. An internal standard Norwalk virus (NV) RNA control is added to each RT-PCR to identify sample inhibition, and thermolabile uracil N-glycosylase is incorporated into the reaction to prevent PCR product carryover contamination. Finally, RT-PCR-generated amplicons are detected in microtiter wells using virus-specific biotinylated oligoprobes in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based format. The DNA enzyme immunoassay is based on the capture of PCR product by biotinylated probes fixed onto individual streptavidin-coated wells. Using this method, low levels of NV were detected in stool and both NLV and hepatitis A virus were detected in bivalve mollusks following bioaccumulation. The method also successfully detected NLV in oysters implicated in an outbreak of NLV gastroenteritis. This method dramatically decreases the time needed for analysis and is amenable to automation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 2217-2223 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOANNE HEWITT ◽  
GAIL E. GREENING

Quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and cell culture (50% tissue culture infectious dose [TCID50]) were used to determine the effect of heat treatments on norovirus and hepatitis A virus (HAV) in the New Zealand Greenshell mussel (Perna canaliculus). Since it is common practice to cook mussels until the shells open, internal temperatures and opening times of mussels on boiling and steaming were determined at regular time intervals. Fifty mussels in batches of six were exposed to boiling and steaming. A mean internal temperature of 90°C (recommended for virus inactivation when maintained for 90 s) was reached after boiling for 170 s, with all 50 mussels open at 210 s. For steaming, the mean internal temperature achieved was only 83°C after 300 s, and all 50 mussels were open. When mussels were steamed for 180 s (mean internal temperature of 63°C), a significant 1.5-log decrease in the HAV titer (log TCID50) was observed. Following the immersion of mussels in boiling water for 180 s (mean internal temperature of 92°C), no viable HAV was detected. For both boiling and steaming experiments, there was no significant change in the norovirus or HAV qRT-PCR titers compared with the controls. Our results show that when New Zealand Greenshell mussels open on heating, their internal temperature may not reach the parameters required for virus inactivation. Immersion for a minimum of 3 min in boiling water rather than steaming is recommended to reduce the risk of viral foodborne illness from contaminated shellfish.


2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 3846-3855 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Isabel Costafreda ◽  
Albert Bosch ◽  
Rosa M. Pint�

ABSTRACT A standardized real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay has been developed for an accurate estimation of the number of genome copies of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in clinical and shellfish samples. Real-time procedures were based on the amplification of a fragment of the highly conserved 5′ noncoding region and detection through an internal fluorescent probe, including TaqMan and beacon chemistries, in one- and two-step RT-PCR formats. The best performance in terms of sensitivity and reproducibility was achieved by a one-step TaqMan RT-PCR, with a sensitivity enabling the detection of 0.05 infectious unit and 10 copies of a single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) synthetic transcript. Standard reagents, such as a mengovirus strain and an ssRNA transcript, were employed as controls of nucleic acid extraction and RT-PCR, respectively. The test proved to be highly specific after a broad panel of enteric viruses was tested. Sequence alignment of target regions of the primers and probe proved them to be adequate for the quantification of all HAV genotypes. In addition, a quasispecies analysis of the mutant spectrum indicated that these regions are not prone to variability, thus confirming their robustness.


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