Chaire de recherche sur le renforcement des capacités de contrôle des virus d'origine alimentaire (VIROCONTROL)

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Human enteric viruses are recognized as important causes of foodborne illnesses worldwide. Most of the reported foodborne viral diseases are gastroenteritis or hepatitis, caused by the human noroviruses (NoV) and the hepatitis A virus (HAV), respectively. More recently, emerging viruses such as the hepatitis E virus have been identified in meat products and pose a public health risk that has been the subject of numerous investigations globally. Canada and Quebec are not immune to these threats, as recent outbreaks occurred involving berries, oysters and highly handled foods. Each year, several viral outbreaks occur in Quebec and often the etiological agent remains undetermined. Although several advances have been made and have facilitated the study of foodborne viruses in the recent years, several data and recommendations remain missing or poorly developed. Therefore, it is clear that a better understanding of the current situation and the development of new effective control approaches is urgently needed to ensure the safety of our food. The overall goal of this Chair targets both a fundamental and an applied aspects of food virology research. In a systemic and holistic approach, the research program will contribute to the advancement of basic knowledge by enabling: 1) to better characterize and understand viruses in foods and 2) to develop interdisciplinary and transferable control strategies to the agro-food sector and regulatory agencies. Four axes defining the specific objectives of the program will be pursued involving 1) epidemiological studies, 2) behavioral studies 3) development of tools for detection and validation of processes and 4) chemical and physical inactivation studies. The data and results obtained can serve as scientific bases for a better analysis and management of viral risk in Quebec and thus reduce the incidence of foodborne viral infections.