Incorrect identification of recent Asian strains of Coxsackievirus A16 as human enterovirus 71: improved primers for the specific detection of human enterovirus 71 by RT PCR.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Human enterovirus 71 has emerged as an important pathogen in the Asia Pacific region and it is important to be able to make a rapid and specific diagnosis for outbreak control. Recent Asian strains of Coxsackievirus A16 have changes in the VP1 gene which causes mispriming of widely used primers for human enterovirus 71 specific identification.

Methods

Local strains of Coxsackievirus A16 were sequenced in the VP4 and VP1 genes and using sequence alignment tools, an improved set of primers were designed for specific identification of human enterovirus 71. These primers were evaluated against virus isolates as well as primary clinical specimens.

Results

A total of 218 virus strains were tested. All 39 human enterovirus 71 isolates were positive and none of the

SUBMITTER: Perera D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC415548 | biostudies-literature | 2004 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature