Laminar flow solutions to the sickening virus problem

Research groups across the UK are using their biological safety cabinets to investigate the link between the human food chain and norovirus infection, on behalf of the FSA (Food Standards Agency).

The human norovirus (HuNoV) is a highly infectious enterovirus affecting up to a million people in the British Isles each year. Highly stable, just a few viral particles can cause infection. Sometimes referred to as the ‘winter sickening bug’, HuNoV is mainly transmitted by the farcical-oral route, including ingestion of aerosolized viral particles. As a result, all work liable to generate an aerosol must be contained within a biological containment device, such as the BioMAT 2 Class 2 safety cabinet.

The Problems of HuNoV Research

The incidence of HuNoV infections is on the increase, and a multidisciplinary approach to controlling the disease is urgently required. However, scientists are hampered due to a lack of experimental data for the human viral form. Attempts to develop a small animal model or cell culture system have proven unsuccessful, although one vaccine has reached the clinical trial stage.

Person-to-person transmission is seen as a prime route for HuNoV infection. However, food contamination is also a factor, although the science is not fully understood. The FSA is now offering tenders for research into this area, tackling it from a variety of angles.

In the US, the Illinois Food Safety and Health Institute is one of more than 30 institutions using biological safety cabinets to study food-borne HuNoV contamination for the Department of Agriculture. All work is performed in a BSL-3 bio containment facility under a HEPA-filtered laminar flow of air.