Regulatory agencies in major seafood markets are increasingly requiring testing for viruses. Enforcement using current PCR methods has potential to cost Australian seafood businesses millions of dollars through trade disruptions and product detention. PCR methods have one serious drawback – they detect non infectious viruses of negligible human health consequence, resulting in the risk of “false positives”.

Norovirus cannot be cultured in cells, despite years of intensive effort; therefore we propose a different approach to resolving the problem. This proposal is to utilise existing knowledge about norovirus cell surface receptors to develop state-of-the-art optical sensing technology to better estimate the infectivity of noroviruses, thereby reducing risk of “false positives” and punitive regulatory action.

This demanding project brings together high calibre, internationally renowned scientists. People committed are:
Professor Tanya Monro (Director, Institute of Advanced Sensing) who recently won the SA Scientist of the Year award for creation of new tools and innovative solutions; and
Assoc. Prof. TuckWeng Kok and Dr Rod Ratcliff (SA Pathology), eminent virologists.

The new technology and international collaboration proposed, will create a platform to detect and effectively manage other viruses and foodborne hazards in seafood and other food, environmental and biological products – and has significant commercialisation potential.

This project is strongly supported by CRC participants, industry and regulators. It addresses Seafood CRC Output 2.2 ‘Diagnostic systems to assure seafood quality and integrity’, which needs greater effort for milestones (2.2.2. and 2.2.6) to be met.