Survival of Enteric Viruses on Fresh Fruit

Abstract

Several enteric viruses were examined for their survival at 4 C on strawberries, cherries, and peaches. With few exceptions, recovery of virus from fruit maintained in a humid atmosphere decreased with time; recoveries from strawberries were especially low; recoveries of coxsackievirus and echovirus were greater than those of poliovirus and reovirus. Aqueous fruit infusions were antiviral and in general correlated with virus loss on the fruit surfaces. An infusion prepared from intact grapes inactivated poliovirus. Desiccation was another contributing factor in virus destruction. No naturally-occurring virus was found in nine fruit samples examined in this study.