{
  "abstract": "Although foodborne viruses are considered ubiquitous in the environment, studies on their presence in soil are largely lacking. In this field study, 168 agricultural soil samples were collected from farms in Georgia and Ohio over seven and eight months, respectively. A total RNA isolation method was developed, and extracted genetic material was analyzed using reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) to detect human norovirus and hepatitis A virus (HAV) RNA. Nearly 6% of samples (n = 10) tested positive for HAV RNA, while norovirus genogroup I and II were detected in 1.2% (n = 2) and 0.6% (n = 1) of samples, respectively. Despite samples being stored at -20 °C for an average of two years prior to testing, viruses remained detectable, although in low levels. CrAssphage DNA and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) RNA were assessed as indicators of human fecal contamination in positive samples; however, neither was detected, precluding any correlation with the viral pathogens-likely due to differing characteristics between the indicators and target viruses. These findings provide valuable insight into the prevalence and diversity of foodborne viruses in agricultural soil and highlight its potential as a vehicle for virus transport to other matrices within a fresh produce farm environment.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Office of Applied Microbiology and Technology, Human Foods Program, Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD 20708, USA.",
    "Department of Animal Sciences, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, USA.",
    "Department of Environmental Health Science, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.",
    "Division of Biological Sciences, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.",
    "Accufy Diagnostics, Rockville, MD 20850, USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Efstathia Papafragkou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Michael Kauffman",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-8359-7724"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Gireesh Rajashekara",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2443-6733"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "William Norfolk",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3927-0361"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Erin Lipp",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8066-0636"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Qianru Yang",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-2812-7678"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a92y6t9j9jt71.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/v18101143",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13709443",
  "id": "a92y6t9j9jt71",
  "issns": [
    "1999-4915"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944062",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2725|Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221858298",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13709443?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13709443",
  "pmid": "42944062",
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a92y6t9j9jt71.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:12Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42944062",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42944062"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2725|Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology",
      "subfield": "infectious-disease"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Occurrence of Norovirus and Hepatitis A Virus RNA in Agricultural Soil from Produce Farms in Ohio and Georgia.",
  "title_text": "Occurrence of Norovirus and Hepatitis A Virus RNA in Agricultural Soil from Produce Farms in Ohio and Georgia.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:22:12Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a92y6t9j9jt71",
  "venue": "Viruses",
  "versions": []
}