ABSTRACT
Astroviruses are the members of Astroviridae family, which include both human and animal nonenveloped viruses possessing a plus-sense, ssRNA genome. In humans, astroviruses mainly produce gastroenteritis together with a broad spectrum of symptoms such as malaise, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain. Besides being one of the most common causes of viral gastroenteritis in young children in developed countries, astrovirus is the culprit for viral diarrhea in young children in some other parts of the world.1 Although foodborne illness resulting from viral infections is a large and growing public health problem, most countries do not have good reporting systems; therefore realistic estimation of the true burden of foodborne diseases is difcult. Based on a recent study, astroviruses account for less than 1% of foodborne illnesses in the United States.2
