Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2010 May 11:10:113.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-10-113.

Rapid semi-automated quantitative multiplex tandem PCR (MT-PCR) assays for the differential diagnosis of influenza-like illness

Elektra Szewczuk  1 , Kiran Thapa, Terry Anninos, Kenneth McPhie, Geoff Higgins, Dominic E Dwyer, Keith K Stanley, Jonathan R Iredell
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Rapid semi-automated quantitative multiplex tandem PCR (MT-PCR) assays for the differential diagnosis of influenza-like illness

Elektra Szewczuk et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Influenza A, including avian influenza, is a major public health threat in developed and developing countries. Rapid and accurate detection is a key component of strategies to contain spread of infection, and the efficient diagnosis of influenza-like-illness is essential to protect health infrastructure in the event of a major influenza outbreak.

Methods: We developed a multiplexed PCR (MT-PCR) assay for the simultaneous diagnosis of respiratory viruses causing influenza-like illness, including the specific recognition of influenza A haemagglutinin subtypes H1, H3, and H5. We tested several hundred clinical specimens in two diagnostic reference laboratories and compared the results with standard techniques.

Results: The sensitivity and specificity of these assays was higher than individual assays based on direct antigen detection and standard PCR against a range of control templates and in several hundred clinical specimens. The MT-PCR assays provided differential diagnoses as well as potentially useful quantitation of virus in clinical samples.

Conclusions: MT-PCR is a potentially powerful tool for the differential diagnosis of influenza-like illness in the clinical diagnostic laboratory.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cycling and melt curves for Influenza A H1 and H3
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cycling and melt curves for Influenza A H5 and Influenza B
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cycling and melt curves for Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Rhinovirus
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cycling and melt curves for Parainfluenza virus type 3
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Nicholson KG. Impact of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus on mortality in England and Wales from January 1975 to December 1990. Epidemiol Infect. 1996;116:51–63. doi: 10.1017/S0950268800058957. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sander B, Nizam A, Garrison LP, Jr, Postma MJ, Halloran ME, Longini IM. , JrEconomic Evaluation of Influenza Pandemic Mitigation Strategies in the United States Using a Stochastic Microsimulation Transmission Model. Value Health. 2008. in press . - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hien TT, de Jong M, Farrar J. Avian influenza--a challenge to global health care structures. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:2363–2365. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp048267. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pabbaraju K, Tokaryk KL, Wong S, Fox JD. Comparison of the Luminex xTAG respiratory viral panel with in-house nucleic acid amplification tests for diagnosis of respiratory virus infections. J Clin Microbiol. 2008;46:3056–3062. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00878-08. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Playford EG, Dwyer DE. Laboratory diagnosis of influenza virus infection. Pathology. 2002;34:115–125. doi: 10.1080/003130201201117909. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances