Enterically infecting viruses: pathogenicity, transmission and significance for food and waterborne infection

Enterically infecting viruses are ubiquitous agents, mostly inducing silent infections. Several are however associated with significant diseases in man from diarrhoea and vomiting to hepatitis and meningitis. These viruses are drawn from a variety of virus families and have different structures and genetic material, yet all are suited to this means of transmission: Normally they are shed in high numbers ( assisting environmental transit) and exhibit great particle stability ( permitting survival both outside the body and on passage through the stomach). Human activities particularly associated with food and water processing and distribution have the capacity to influence the epidemiology of these viruses. This review provides a description of viruses spreading by these means, their significance as pathogens and considers their behavior in these human-assisted processes.