Advanced Risk Analysis for Biological Hazards in Greek PDO Food Products

The present research received fund from the Single State Action Aid for Research, Technological Development & Innovation «INVESTIGATE - CREATE – INNOVATE" project "Trust Trace" T1EDK-04028. Abstract Food safety is increasingly concern both consumers and public health authorities. Food safety management systems have been implemented in food industry in order to protect consumer’s health. Moreover, risk analysis strategies are usually included in food safety management plans. The aim of this study was to present and suggest an integrated system for risk analysis in food industry. Risk assessment combined with Next Generation Sequencing technology were performed. Greek food products which hold a PDO or PGI quality scheme (Avgotaracho Mesolonghiou and Vostizza currant) were selected as case studies because of their uniqueness and economic impact. From the results obtained, existing strategies were adequate in terms of Greek regulation for pathogens in foodstuff. However, NGS technique opens up possibilities to detect total microbiota of food products and minimize possible foodborne incidents. NGS analysis of Greek PDO products identified bacterial species (Bacillus cereus and Acitenobacter Venetianus) that can provide managers extra information about potential consumers’ exposure to biological hazards. In conclusion, by advanced risk analysis, existing limitations regarding foodborne pathogens could be addressed. Therefore, this integrated risk analysis plan should be implemented in food industry in terms of food safety. Keywords: biological hazards, food industry, NGS, risk assessment, risk factors DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/117-05 Publication date:July 31st 202

Molecular characterization of hepatitis A virus isolates from environmental and clinical samples in Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis A virus (HAV) strains detected in environmental and clinical samples were analysed to characterize the genotypes of HAV circulating in Greece. Fifty (50) sewage samples were collected from Patras (South-Western Greece) and Alexandroupolis (North-Eastern Greece) from 2007 until 2009, accordingly. The clinical samples derived from an HAV outbreak involved populations from three neighbouring prefectures of North-Eastern Greece (Xanthi, Rodopi, and Evros). HAV particles were detected by nested RT-PCR, using a previously validated set of primers to amplify a 290-bp fragment encompassing the 5'-NTR. Positive HAV samples were confirmed by sequencing of the PCR product. To determine the relatedness between the different isolated sequences, a phylogenetic tree was constructed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results showed a 100% prevalence of genotype I, and particularly subgenotype IA. The analyzed HAV strains were closely related between them with the percentage of nucleotide identity ranging between 96% and 100%.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The study revealed the major prevalence of circulating strains of IA genotype in Greece and underlined the usefulness of molecular methods for the detection and typing of viruses in both environmental and clinical samples. The present study is, to our knowledge, the first in Greece to depict the simultaneous molecular characterization of HAV strains isolated from both clinical and environmental samples.</p

Impact on the Quality of Life When Living Close to a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant

The objective of the study was to investigate the impact on the quality of life of people living close to a municipal wastewater treatment plant. A case control study, including 235 inhabitants living within a 500 m radius by a municipal wastewater treatment plant (cases) and 97 inhabitants living in a different area (controls), was conducted. A standardized questionnaire was self-completed by the participants which examined the general health perception and the overall life satisfaction. Also, the concentration of airborne pathogenic microorganisms in aerosol samples collected around the wastewater treatment plant was investigated. Significant risk for symptoms such as headache, unusual tiredness, and concentration difficulties was recorded and an increased possibility for respiratory and skin diseases was reported. A high rate of the cases being irritable and moody was noticed. Significantly higher gastrointestinal symptoms were also reported among the cases in relation to the controls. The prevalence of pathogenic airborne microorganisms originating from the wastewater treatment plant was reported in high numbers in sampling points close to the wastewater treatment plant. More analytical epidemiological investigations are needed to determine the cause as well as the burden of the diseases to inhabitants living surrounding the wastewater treatment plant

Το Άγχος Θανάτου σε Επαγγελματίες Διάσωσης σε Σχέση με την Πνευματικότητα και η Επίδρασή τους στη Μετατραυματική Διαταραχή Στρες - Αποσυνδετικού Τύπου

Εισαγωγή: Οι επαγγελματίες διάσωσης λόγω των δύσκολων και σκληρών εμπειριών που βιώνουν στην καριέρα τους, έχουν να αντιμετωπίσουν και τις διάφορες ψυχολογικές φορτίσεις, οι οποίες τους φέρνουν αντιμέτωπους με συναισθηματικές και πνευματικές διεργασίες για να διατηρήσουν τις εσωτερικές και κοινωνικές ισορροπίες τους. Σκοπός: Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία αποσκοπεί στο να διερευνήσει την επικρατούσα κατάσταση της ύπαρξης άγχους θανάτου σε επαγγελματίες διάσωσης στην Ελλάδα, του πνευματικού υπόβαθρού τους, και της ύπαρξης αποσυνδετικών εμπειριών που παραπέμπουν σε μετατραυματική διαταραχή στρες. Επίσης διερευνά την επίδραση και την συσχέτιση του άγχους θανάτου και της πνευματικής νοημοσύνης με τη μετατραυματική διαταραχή στρες - αποσυνδετικού τύπου (PTSD-Diss). Υλικό και Μέθοδος: Η παρούσα μελέτη είναι συγχρονική και χρησιμοποιήθηκαν ερωτηματολόγια για το άγχος θανάτου (DAQ), για την πνευματική νοημοσύνη (SSRI-24), για την ενσυναίσθηση (TEQ) και για τις αποσυνδετικές εμπειρίες (DES II), σε συμμετέχοντες εργαζόμενους στο Εθνικό Κέντρο Άμεσης Βοήθειας (Ε.Κ.Α.Β.) και στο Πυροσβεστικό Σώμα (Π.Σ.) της Πάτρας. Αποτελέσματα: Για το σύνολο των Επαγγελματιών Διάσωσης, οι μέσοι όροι των αποτελεσμάτων των ερωτηματολογίων ήταν: για το άγχος θανάτου 13,69 της κλίμακας DAQ, για την πνευματική νοημοσύνη 55,63 της κλίμακας SSRI-24, για την ενσυναίσθηση 42,48 της κλίμακας TEQ και για τις αποσυνδετικές εμπειρίες 15,15 της κλίμακας DES II. Συζήτηση: Υπάρχει ανάγκη εφαρμογής εκπαίδευσης και υποστήριξης σε ψυχολογικά θέματα, κάτι που δεν υφίσταται στην ελληνική πραγματικότητα για τον τομέα της διάσωσης. Επίσης χρειάζεται να ενσωματωθούν παρεμβάσεις προαγωγής της υγείας ειδικά σχεδιασμένες για Επαγγελματίες Διάσωσης, για να προαχθεί η βελτίωση της ποιότητας της ζωής και του έργου τους.Introduction: Rescue professionals, due to the difficult and hard circumstances they experience in their careers, have to cope with various psychological burdens that confront them with emotional and spiritual processes to maintain their internal and social equilibrium. Objectives: This thesis aims to investigate the prevailing state of death anxiety for rescue professionals in Greece, their intellectual background, and the existence of decoupling experiences that refer to post traumatic stress. It also explores the effect and correlation of death anxiety and spiritual intelligence with post-traumatic stress disorder - dissociative type (PTSD-Diss). Materials and Methods: This study is cross-sectional and the questionnaires that have been used are for Death Anxiety (DAQ), for Spiritual Intelligence (SSRI-24), for Empathy (TEQ), and for Dissociative Experiences (DES II), given to participant workers in the National Emergency Response Center and the Fire Brigade of Patras. Results: For all Rescue Professionals, the averages of the results of the questionnaires are: for Death Anxiety 13.69 on the DAQ scale, for Spiritual Intelligence 55.63 on the SSRI-24 scale, for Empathy 42.48 on the TEQ Scale and for Disconnect Experiences 15.15 on the DES II scale. Discussion: There is a need to apply education and support to psychological issues, something that does not exist in the Greek reality for the rescue department. In addition health promotion interventions specifically designed for Rescue Professionals, need to be incorporated in order to promote the improvement of quality of their life and work

Development of an optimized method for the detection of airborne viruses with real-time PCR analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Airborne viruses remain one of the major public health issues worldwide. Detection and quantification of airborne viruses is essential in order to provide information regarding public health risk assessment.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>In this study, an optimized new, simple, low cost method for sampling of airborne viruses using Low Melting Agarose (LMA) plates and a conventional microbial air sampling device has been developed. The use of LMA plates permits the direct nucleic acids extraction of the captured viruses without the need of any preliminary elution step. Molecular detection and quantification of airborne viruses is performed using real-time quantitative (RT-)PCR (Q(RT-)PCR) technique. The method has been tested using Adenoviruses (AdVs) and Noroviruses (NoVs) GII, as representative DNA and RNA viruses, respectively. Moreover, the method has been tested successfully in outdoor experiments, by detecting and quantifying human adenoviruses (HAdVs) in the airborne environment of a wastewater treatment plant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The great advantage of LMA is that nucleic acids extraction is performed directly on the LMA plates, while the eluted nucleic acids are totally free of inhibitory substances. Coupled with QPCR the whole procedure can be completed in less than three (3) hours.</p

Molecular detection of multiple viral targets in untreated urban sewage from Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Urban sewage virological analysis may produce important information about the strains that cause clinical and subclinical infections in the population, thus supporting epidemiological studies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the present study, a twenty one-month survey (November 2007 to July 2009) was conducted in order to evaluate the presence of human adenoviruses (hAdV), hepatitis A viruses (HAV), hepatitis E viruses (HEV), Noroviruses (NoV), and human Polyomaviruses (hPyV) in untreated sewage samples collected from the inlet of Patras' municipal biological wastewater treatment plant, located in southwestern Greece. Nucleic acid amplification techniques were applied for viral nucleic acid detection. Positive samples were confirmed by sequencing and comparative phylogenetic analysis was performed on the isolated viral strains.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total, viruses were detected in 87.5% (42/48) of sewage samples. AdVs, PyVs, HAV, and NoVs were detected in 45.8% (22/48), 68.8% (33/48), 8.3% (4/48), and 6.3% (3/48) of the samples collected from the plant's inlet, while HEV was not detected at all. Adenovirus types 8 (Ad8), 40 (Ad40) and 41 (Ad41) were recognized, while JC and BK polyomaviruses were recorded. Noroviruses were identified as GII.4. HAV was typed as genotype IA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study demonstrates the advantages of environmental surveillance as a tool to elucidate the molecular epidemiology of community circulating viruses. We underline the need of environmental surveillance programs in countries such as Greece with inadequate and problematic epidemiological surveillance system and no environmental surveillance system currently in action.</p

Epidemiological investigation of two parallel gastroenteritis outbreaks in school settings

BACKGROUND: Two parallel gastroenteritis outbreaks occurred in an elementary school and a neighboring kindergarten in Kilkis, Northern Greece in 2012. The aim of the study was the investigation of these two parallel outbreaks as well as their possible source. METHODS: Two retrospective cohort studies were performed to identify the mode and the vehicle of transmission as well as the possible connection between them. RESULTS: Elementary school and kindergarten populations of 79.9% (119/149) and 51.1% (23/45) respectively, participated in the study. Case definition was satisfied by 65 pupils from the elementary school and 14 from the kindergarten. For elementary school, 53 cases were considered primary cases of the outbreak and were included in the analysis. Based on the results of the multivariate analysis, consumption of tap water was the only statistically significant independent risk factor of gastroenteritis (RR = 2.34, 95% C.I.: 1.55-3.53).; a finding supported by the shape of the epidemic curve which referred to a common point source outbreak with secondary cases. For kindergarten, no statistically significant risk factor was identified, and the epidemic curve supported a person-to-person transmission according univariate analysis. Norovirus GI and GII and human Adenovirus were detected by Real Time PCR in stool samples from seven children of elementary school, but stool samples were not collected by children of the kindergarten. CONCLUSIONS: Even though the etiological agent of the outbreak was not verified, combined epidemiological and laboratory results were in favor of a waterborne viral gastroenteritis outbreak at the elementary school, followed by a person to person spread at the kindergarten

Environmental Surveillance. An Additional/Alternative Approach for Virological Surveillance in Greece?

The detection of viruses in the sewage of an urban city by nucleic acid amplification techniques allows the identification of the viral strains that are circulating in the community. The aim of the study was the application of such detection which gives useful data on the distribution, spread, and frequency of these viruses, supporting epidemiological studies of the related viral infections. A two year (2007–2009) survey was conducted in order to evaluate the presence of human adenoviruses (hAdV), hepatitis A viruses (HAV), hepatitis E viruses (HEV), noroviruses (NoV), and human polyomaviruses (hPyV) in sewage samples collected from the inlet of a municipal biological wastewater treatment plant located in southwestern Greece. PCR methods were used for this survey. In total, viruses have been detected in 87.5% (42/48) of the analyzed sewage samples. Analytically, DNA viruses, hAdVs and hPyVs have been detected in 45.8% (22/48) and 68.8% (33/48) of the samples, respectively. As it concerns RNA viruses, HAV was detected in 8.3% (4/48), NoVs in 6.3% (3/48), while HEV has not been detected at all. After sequencing, AdVs were typed as Ad8, Ad40 and Ad41, while both JC and BK hPyVs have been recognized. All NoVs have been identified as GII4, while HAV was typed as genotype IA. Similar long-term studies could be undertaken in countries such as Greece in order to offer a valuable and complementary tool to current problematic epidemiological surveillance systems. This study demonstrates the advantages of environmental surveillance as a tool to determine the epidemiology of viruses circulating in a given community. To our knowledge this was the first of its kind study performed in Greece in order to establish this new way of surveillance

The potential for a concerted system for the rapid monitoring of excess mortality throughout Europe

We present the results of a survey conducted in the context of the project European Monitoring of Excess Mortality for Public Health Action (EuroMOMO), which is being conducted to develop a routine public health mortality monitoring system for the timely detection of excess deaths related to public health threats in Europe. The survey was conducted in 32 European countries using two questionnaires on: i) the existing and planned mortality monitoring systems, and ii) the routine collection of mortality data. Nine existing mortality monitoring systems were identified in seven countries (Belgium, Germany, France (two systems), Italy (two systems), Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland), as well as several systems that were in a pilot or planning state. Each system is described in detail. The results will be used for the subsequent phases of EuroMOMO, in particular for identifying the minimum requirements for the planned European system and for selecting countries to be included in the project's pilot phase.

VITAL, Monitoring and Control for Virus Safe Pork

VITAL is an ongoing (2008-2011) EU funded project on monitoring and control of food-borne viruses. The concept of VITAL is the integrated risk assessment and management of contamination of the European farm to market food chain by pathogenic viruses, such as norovirus and hepatitis E virus. The project’s focus is on the production and processing phase, moving away from the concept of endpoint monitoring towards input monitoring