Human noroviruses (hNoVs) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) are the leading cause of foodborne viral illness, and they exact a considerable economic and health toll worldwide. The detection of viral contamination in foods requires highly sensitive and accurate methods, due to the intrinsically low amounts of viruses and the complexity of the sample matrices. In recent years, a wide variety of nucleic acid-based molecular methods have been developed for the detection of hNoVs and HAV, displaying superior sensitivity, specificity, and speed. This chapter aims to provide a summary of the application of the molecular methods for the detection of the two important foodborne viruses.
Part of the book: Nucleic Acids