Research Publications (Food Safety)

Being frequently exposed to foreign nucleic acids, bacteria and archaea have developed an ingenious adaptive defense system, called CRISPR-Cas. The system is composed of the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) array, together with CRISPR (cas)-associated genes. This system consists of a complex machinery that integrates fragments of foreign nucleic acids from viruses and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), into CRISPR arrays.

Human norovirus (HuNoV) is a highly contagious pathogenic virus that is transmitted through contaminated food, water, high-touch surfaces and aerosols. Globally, there are an estimated 685 million infections annually due to norovirus, including 200 million affecting children under the age of 5. HuNoV causes approximately 50, 000 child deaths per year and costs an estimated USD $60 billion annually in healthcare.

Animal farming has intensified significantly in recent decades, with the emergence of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in industrialized nations. The congregation of susceptible animals in CAFOs can lead to heavy environmental contamination with pathogens, promoting the emergence of hyper-transmissible, and virulent pathogens.

In routine surveillance for avian influenza viruses (AIVs) in the environments of live poultry markets (LPMs), certain samples were positive for AIVs type A while negative for subtypes (e.g., H5, H7, and H9). However, little attention has been paid to these unsubtyped AIVs samples.

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Accepted Article.

Background In the United States, norovirus is the leading cause of healthcare-associated gastroenteritis outbreaks. To inform prevention efforts, we describe the epidemiology of norovirus outbreaks in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Methods The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collect epidemiologic and laboratory data on norovirus outbreaks from US health departments through the National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) and CaliciNet.

Author(s): Zhichuang Ge, Lijun Xu, Xiaomiao Hu, Shanshan Zhu, Ying Zhao, Yang Li, Kaituo Liu, Ruyi Gao, Xiaoquan Wang, Jiao Hu, Xiaowen Liu, Shunlin Hu, Daxin Peng, Min Gu, Xiufan Liu

Author(s): Eric Jubinville, Mathilde Trudel-Ferland, Janie Amyot, Julie Jean

Author(s): Joe James, Amanda H. Seekings, Paul Skinner, Katie Purchase, Sahar Mahmood, Ian H. Brown, Rowena D.E. Hansen, Ashley C. Banyard, Scott M. Reid

Author(s): Yani Sun, Wenlong Yan, Xu Chen, Qianqian Liu, Pinpin Ji, Jiahong Zhu, Lili Gai, Xiaoxuan Li, Jiakai Zhao, Lu Zhang, Hao Zhang, Baoyuan Liu, En-Min Zhou, Qin Zhao

It has been documented that Helicobacter hepaticus (H. hepaticus) infection is linked to chronic hepatitis and fibrosis in male BALB/c mice. However, the mechanism underlying the mice model of H. hepaticus–induced hepatocellular carcinoma is not fully known. In this study, male BALB/c mice were infected with H. hepaticus for 3, 6, 12, and 18 months. H.

Duck hepatitis A virus 1 (DHAV-1) is a highly contagious etiological agent that causes acute hepatitis in young ducklings. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important regulatory roles in response to pathogens. However, the interplay between DHAV-1 infection and miRNAs remains ambiguous. We characterized and compared miRNA and mRNA expression profiles in duck embryo fibroblasts cells (DEFs) infected with DHAV-1.

Occupational exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been associated with numerous health complications including steatohepatitis and liver cancer. However, the potential impact of environmental/residential VOC exposures on liver health and function is largely unknown. To address this knowledge gap, the objective of this cross-sectional study is to investigate associations between VOCs and liver injury biomarkers in community residents.

Human noroviruses are the leading cause of sporadic cases and outbreaks of viral acute gastroenteritis in all age groups worldwide. Background
Human noroviruses are the leading cause of sporadic cases and outbreaks of viral acute gastroenteritis in all age groups worldwide.

Zoonoses and Public Health, EarlyView. Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a public health concern due to its zoonotic transmission to human, being pigs a highly recognized reservoir. We previously demonstrated HEV genotype 3 infections in pig herds from the highest commercial active region from Argentina. Here, we present a case of acute symptomatic hepatitis E in an elderly man with occupational exposure to pigs who referred regular consumption of pork and sausages.

Author(s): Mengxiao Song, Md. Iqbal Hossain, Soontag Jung, Daseul Yeo, Zhaoqi Wang, Ae Min, Ziwei Zhao, Sunho Park, Changsun Choi

Author(s): Junyi Hu, Zhe Hu, Yandi Wei, Ming Zhang, Senlin Wang, Qi Tong, Honglei Sun, Juan Pu, Jinhua Liu, Yipeng Sun

Duck enteritis virus (DEV) and duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV) are prevalent duck pathogens, causing significant economic losses in the duck industry annually. Using a fosmid-based rescue system, we generated two DEV recombinants, rDEV-UL26/27-P13C and rDEV-US7/8-P13C, in which the P1 and 3C genes from DHAV type 3 (DHAV-3) were inserted into the DEV genome between genes UL26 and UL27 or genes US7 and US8.

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Accepted Article.

In the originally published version of this manuscript [Cannon LJ, Lopman BA, Payne DC, et al. Birth Cohort Studies Assessing Norovirus Infection and Immunity in Young Children: A Review.

Author(s): Jiao Hu, Qi Zhang, Peipei Peng, Rumeng Li, Jun Li, Xiaoquan Wang, Min Gu, Zenglei Hu, Shunlin Hu, Xiaowen Liu, Mei Mei, Xinan Jiao, Daxin Peng, Xiufan Liu

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, Accepted Article. Highly pathogenic Avian influenza (HPAI) is a fatal zoonotic disease that damages the poultry industry and endangers human lives via exposure to the pathogen. A risk assessment model that precisely predicts high-risk groups and occurrence of HPAI infection is essential for effective biosecurity measures that minimize the socioeconomic losses of massive outbreaks.

Author(s): Michael A. Pitino, Sharon Unger, Alexander Gill, Allison J. McGeer, Alain Doyen, Yves Pouliot, Richard P. Bazinet, Akash Kothari, Tony Mazzulli, Debbie Stone, Deborah L. O'Connor

Author(s): Nahed Yehia, Ahmed M. Erfan, Amany Adel, Ahmed El-Tayeb, Wafaa M.M. Hassan, Ahmed Samy, Mohamed E. Abd El-Hack, Mohamed T. El-Saadony, Khaled A. El-Tarabily, Kawkab A. Ahmed