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

人类肠道病毒被认为是全球食源性疾病的重要原因。大多数报告的食源性病毒性疾病是胃肠炎或肝炎，分别由人类诺如病毒（NoV）和甲型肝炎病毒（HAV）引起。最近，在肉制品中发现了戊型肝炎病毒等新出现的病毒，这些病毒构成了公共卫生风险，已成为全球众多调查的主题。加拿大和魁北克也不能幸免于这些威胁，因为最近爆发的疫情涉及浆果、牡蛎和高度处理的食品。每年，魁北克都会发生几次病毒爆发，而且病原体往往无法确定。尽管近年来已经取得了一些进展，并促进了食源性病毒的研究，但一些数据和建议仍然缺失或发展不足。 因此，很明显，迫切需要更好地了解现状并开发新的有效控制方法，以确保我们的食品安全。该教席的总体目标是食品病毒学研究的基础和应用方面。该研究计划将以系统和整体的方法促进基础知识的进步，使：1）更好地表征和了解食品中的病毒; 2）为农业食品部门和监管机构制定跨学科和可转移的控制策略。确定该计划具体目标的四个轴心将涉及1）流行病学研究，2）行为研究，3）检测和验证过程的工具开发，以及4）化学和物理灭活研究。所获得的数据和结果可以作为科学依据，更好地分析和管理魁北克的病毒风险，从而降低食源性病毒感染的发病率。

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.