Detection and quantification of infectious avian influenza A (H5N1) virus in environmental water by using real-time reverse transcription-PCR.

ABSTRACT: Routes of avian influenza virus (AIV) dispersal among aquatic birds involve direct (bird-to-bird) and indirect (waterborne) transmission. The environmental persistence of H5N1 virus in natural water reservoirs can be assessed by isolation of virus in embryonated chicken eggs. Here we describe development and evaluation of a real-time quantitative reverse transcription (RT)-PCR (qRT-PCR) method for detection of H5N1 AIV in environmental water. This method is based on adsorption of virus particles to formalin-fixed erythrocytes, followed by qRT-PCR detection. The numbers of hemagglutinin RNA copies from H5N1 highly pathogenic AIV particles adsorbed to erythrocytes detected correlated highly with the infectious doses of the virus that were determined for three different types of artificially

SUBMITTER: Dovas CI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2849232 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature