Abstract

ZAMBRANO, Zhorymar; MALDONADO, Antonio  and  BASTARDO, Jesús. Norovirus and rotavirus detection in oysters commercialized in Cumana, Venezuela. Rev. Soc. Ven. Microbiol. [online]. 2011, vol.31, n.2, pp.156-161. ISSN 1315-2556.

Gastroenteritis outbreaks in humans have been often associated with the ingestion of bivalve mollusks. In this study, 15 mixtures of samples of the digestive tissue of oysters (Pinctada imbricate), commercialized at the Avenida Perimetral in Cumana, Sucre State, Venezuela, were analyzed through two processing methods and two nucleic acid extraction methods, with the purpose of detecting norivirus and rotavirus RNA by the Polymerase Chain Reverse Transcription Method. Five pairs of oligonucleotids were also used, to select the best one for virus detection. Norovirus was detected in 13 of the 15 mixtures of samples using a combination of processing method A and nucleic extraction method B, and the JV12 and JV13 oligonucleotid pair. This combination of methods resulted as the most efficient for norovirus detection through PCR-RT. Nevertheless, rotavirus was not detected in the digestive tissue of any of the oysters analyzed with any of the combination of methods, or any of the oligonucleotid pairs used. The high presence of norovirus in the oysters showed their potential for serving as carriers of enteric virus infections

Keywords : norovirus; rotavirus; detection; oysters.