THE STUDY OF

VIRUSES
FRANCES T. FRANCISCO
KENT HARVEY SANCHEZ
ALLAN AVEJERO
THE STUDY OF VIRUSES
• Define Virus
• The Origin of Viruses
• Viral Infections
• How Viruses Contaminate Food
• How to Eliminate Viruses from Food
• How to Prevent Viruses from Comtinating Food
DEFINE VIRUS
Define Virus
• VIRUS is an infective agent that typically
consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a
protein coat, it is too small to be seen by
light microscopy, and is able to multiply
only within the living cells of a host.
• The entire infectious VIRUS PARTICLE,
called a virion, consists of the nucleic acid
and an outer shell of protein. The simplest
viruses contain only enough RNA or DNA
to encode four proteins. The most
complex can encode 100 – 200 proteins.
Define Virus
• Unlike Bacteria, viruses are not alive.
Viruses are much smaller than bacteria
and it consist of Protein Coat, which
encloses a nucleic acid core. They are
called Obligate Intracellular Parasites.
• Viruses only infect a particular type of cell
in a particular species of animal and so are
generally species specific. Only a small
number are needed to make one ill.
Define Virus
• Viruses are extremely persistent And
might remain in a contaminated food for
long period of time, when they are in food,
they are simply just there and do not
replicate or increase in number.
• Viruses are the smallest of the foodborne
microbial contaminants. Most experts
believe that viruses are the most common
cause of foodborne illness.
THE ORIGIN OF VIRUSES
The arigin of Viruses
The three theories that explain the origin of
viruses:

• Regressive evolution – Viruses are

degenerate life forms which have lost
many functions that other organismas
possess and have only retained the genetic
information essential to their parasitic way
of life
The Origin of Viruses
• Cellular Origins – viruses are sub-cellular,
fumctional assemblies of macromolecules
which have escape their origins inside
cells.

• Independent Entities- viruses evolve on a

parallel course to cellular organisms from
self-replicating molecules believed to have
existed in the primative prebiotic RNA
WORLD.
The Origin of Viruses
The importance of the origin of viruses
is that this issue may have practical
implications for virology here and now. Such
ideas may allow us to predict the properties
and behavior of new viruses, or to develop
new drugs based on what us already known
about existing viruses.
VIRAL INFECTIONS
Viral Infections
• Epidemiologic studies show that viral
infections in developed countries are the
most common cause of acute disease that
does not require hospitalization. In
developing countries, viral diseasesalso
exact a heavy toll in mortality and
permanent disability, especially among
infants and children. Emerging viral
diseases such as those due to HIV,
ebolavirus and hantavirus, appear
regularly.
Viral Infections
• But now antibiotics can effectively control
most bacterial infections, viral infections
pose a relatively greater and less
controlled threat to human health.
• Viruses can infect all forms of life
(bacteria, plants, pronzoa, fungi, insects,
fish, reptiles, birds and mammals)
however, this section covers only viruses
capable of causing human infections.
Viral Infections
• Viruses also cause otherlife threatening
diseases, such as smallpox, polio,
influenza, and AIDS.
• Unlike bacteria, viruses cannot multiply
outside of their specific host human,
animal, or plant. Although inert in the
environment, viruses transmitted by food
are quite hardy and remain infectious
while stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
FOOD CONTAMINATION BY
VIRUSES
Food Contamination by Viruses
• Water, salads, shellfish, iced drinks, and
other ready ro eat foods are the most
common source of viral foodborne
illnesses.
• Food may he contaminated at the source.
Shellfish may be comtaminated by sewage,
and a persons who eat raw or
undercooked shellfish harvested from
contaminated waters may get diarrhea.
Food Contamination by Viruses
• Drinking water can also be contaminated by
sewage and be a source of spread of these
viruses.
To Prevent this type of Contamination:
• Wash hands frequently with soap and running
water for at least 20 seconds, particularly after
using the bathroom and before, during, and after
preparing food.
• If you work in a restaurant or deli, avoid bare-
hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces contaminated by
vomit or diarrhea (use a bleach-based household
cleaner as directed on the label). Clean and
disinfect food preparation equipment and
surfaces.
Food Contimination by Viruses
• If you are ill with diarrhea or vomiting and
for two days afterwards, do not cook,
prepare, or serve food for others.
• Wash fruits and vegetables and cook
oysters and other shellfish thoroughly
before eating them.
• Wash clothing or linens soiled by vomit or
fecal matter immediately. Remove the
items carefully to avoid spreading the
virus. Machine wash and dry.
 How to Eliminate
Viruses from Food /
Prevent Viruses from
Contaminating Food
How to Eliminate Viruses from Food/
How To Prevent Viruses from
Contaminating Food
• Heating the food can destroyed most
viruses. But the time temperature
schedule will vary depending on the target
viral agent. One study reported that a
poliovirus was found to survive stewing,
frying, baking, and steaming of oysters.
• The best way to prevent foodborne illness
from viral agents is to prevent
contamination to begin with.
How to Eliminate Viruses from Food /
How To Prevent Viruses from
Contaminating Food

• Most outbreaks of viral gastroenteritis are

self-limited so they tend to end or be
resolved without treatment.

Identify and Eliminate a Common Source. For

viral outbreaks, an ill food handler is a likely
source, although water, ice and shellfish are
common sources. Employees are at highest
risk for transmitting disease because of their
many contacts with ill persons.
How to Eliminate Viruses from Food /
How To Prevent Viruses from
Contaminating Food
• Any staff member with symptoms that
suggest infection should be excluded from
contact with potentially susceptible persons
for at least two days after resolution of illness.

• Prevent Employee Acquisition of Illness.

Personnel coming into direct contact with ill
persons should wear disposable plastic
gloves. When contamination of clothing with
fecal material is possible, personnel should
also wear gowns. Hands, which are the most
likely means by which viral spread occurs,
should be washed after each contact.
How to Eliminate Viruses from Food /
How To Prevent Viruses from
Contaminating Food
• Use Safeguard with Laundry. Soiled linens and
clothes should be handled as little as possible
and with minimum agitation to prevent
microbial contamination of the air and of
persons handling linen. If the laundry is wet
put it in a plastic bag.
• Clean Soiled Surfaces. Environmental surfaces
in certain settings have been implicated in the
transmission of enteric viruses, bathrooms
and rooms occupied by ill persons should
clean on a routine basis. Persons who
perform cleaning procedures should wear
appropriate protective barriers.
How to Eliminate Viruses from Food /
How To Prevent Viruses from
Contaminating Food
• Minimize Contact Between Well and Ill
Person. Ill persons should be separated
from well persons until at least two days
after resolution of symptoms.
Thank You!!!