Noroviruses whole genome sequencing and extended genotyping

Funding period: 2022–2024
Lead: Philippe Raymond
Total GRDI funding: $68,500

Noroviruses account for sixty-five percent of known causes of foodborne illness in Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) relies on the precision of diagnostic methods to deliver on its food safety mandate. Sequencing the genome of noroviruses allows the investigation on the linkage between co-occurring cases and outbreaks of norovirus and thus provide the capacity to improve the outbreak investigation and food recall process. Sequencing also provides the capacity to identify emerging genotypes and new virus variants. In addition, norovirus genome sequence data accessibility and availability facilitate disease spread modelling. The availability of norovirus genome sequences improves the ability to make risk-informed decisions. While the precision and sensitivity of current next-generation sequencing approaches have greatly improved, their robustness remains to be evaluated and improved, if required. The objective of this project are to: 1) identify the best Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) approach for the confirmation and/or track-back investigation of human noroviruses (HuNoV) contaminated food; 2) identify the most sensitive untargeted approach for sequencing multiple HuNoV genotypes; and 3) identify reference variants for future method development and validation.