Development of a method for direct extraction of viral RNA from bivalve molluscs.

A direct extraction procedure was developed to recover viral RNA from shellfish with improved efficiency in comparison to reference extraction method (ISO 15216). Without the need for specific equipment, this procedure offers an alternative for performing food safety controls and for risk assessment studies. Given the inclusion in this extraction method of several steps for the efficient removal of food components inhibiting PCR reaction, this approach could serve as a general scheme for the extraction of nucleic acids of other enteric viruses and/or from other food categories.