Objectives and expected achievements:

In this project proposal we set out to join forces in Europe to allow more rapid and internationally
standardized assessment of the spread of food-borne viral pathogens. Mapping
these pathways will allow identification of high risk foods or processing methods, as well
as high risk import/transport routes, which subsequently can be targeted by prevention programs.
In this project we will generate data which are essential for well-funded assessment
of the risks associated with consumption of certain food items.
This will be done by combining complementary expertise from the fields of diagnostic
virology, molecular virology, epidemiology, food-borne infections, food-processing, and
molecular biology.

Overall objectives

The project team has set the following overall objectives:

1. To study the importance of enteric viruses as causes of illness across Europe, with a
   special focus on multinational outbreaks of infection with Norwalk-like viruses and
   hepatitis A virus.
2. To develop novel, standardized, rapid methods for virus detection and typing to be
   used in all participating laboratories.
3. To establish the framework for a rapid, prepublication exchange of epidemiological,
   virological and molecular diagnostic data.
4. To determine which are the high-risk foods and major transmission routes of foodborne
   viral infections in the different countries and between countries.
5. To describe the pattern of diversity within and between countries, and identify potential
   pandemic strains at the onset.