A faster method to detect norovirus in oysters using probe hybridization to isolate target RNA before RT-PCR.

Human Noroviruses (HuNoVs) are the most frequent cause of outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis following the ingestion of raw or improperly cooked oysters. Although highly sensitive methods to detect HuNoV in oysters using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) are available, rapid methods to process samples for RT-PCR are still needed. The conventional approach is to concentrate the virus first before RNA purification to maximize assay sensitivity, but the procedures used are cumbersome.

Methods to increase fidelity of repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR fingerprint-based bacterial source tracking efforts.

The goal of the study was to determine which similarity coefficient and statistical method to use to produce the highest rate of correct assignment (RCA) in repetitive extragenic palindromic PCR-based bacterial source tracking. In addition, the use of standards for deciding whether to accept or reject source assignments was investigated. The use of curve-based coefficients Cosine Coefficient and Pearson's Product Moment Correlation yielded higher RCAs than the use of band-based coefficients Jaccard, Dice, Jeffrey's x, and Ochiai.

Isolation, Enumeration, and Identification of Gram-Positive Cocci from Frozen Crabmeat.

Bacterial levels in frozen crabmeat samples were determined by plate counts using four staphylococcal isolation media incubated for 24, 48, and 72 h at 26 and 35°C. Staphylococcal counts determined by the spread-plate Food and Drug Administration Baird-Parker protocol incubated at 35°C for 48 h (FDABP48-35) served as the standard for comparison. When FDABP48-35 counts were compared to counts from 29 combinations of media, time of incubation, and incubation temperature, only FDABP and Borrego, Florido, Mrocek, and Romero (BFMR) counts, representing 11 combinations, were statistically comparable to FDABP48-35 counts.

Rapid Methods to Evaluate the Bacteriological Quality of Frozen Crabmeat.

The standard methods plate count (SMPC) of frozen crabmeat samples was compared with counts of two alternative aerobic plate count methods (Redigel, Petrifilm). The differences in counts were compared after incubation at two temperatures (35°C and room temperature; RT) and three intervals of time (24, 48, and 72 h). No statistical differences were found when the time of analysis or the method of analysis was compared.