Switching gears for an influenza pandemic: validation of a duplex reverse transcriptase PCR assay for simultaneous detection and confirmatory identification of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus.

ABSTRACT: Rapid methods for the detection and confirmatory identification of pandemic influenza A virus (also known as pandemic [H1N1] 2009) are of utmost importance. In this study, a conventional reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) assay for the detection of influenza A virus and the hemagglutinin of swine lineage H1 (swH1) was designed, optimized, and validated. Nucleic acids were extracted from 198 consecutive nasopharyngeal, nasal, or throat swab specimens collected early in the outbreak (127 negative specimens, 66 specimens with pandemic [H1N1] 2009 influenza virus, 3 specimens with seasonal [H1N1] influenza A virus, and 2 specimens with seasonal [H3N2] influenza A virus). The performance characteristics of the duplex RT-PCR assay were assessed and compared to those of various detection methods:

SUBMITTER: LeBlanc JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2786647 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature