A blood-based host gene expression assay for early detection of respiratory viral infection: an index-cluster prospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Early and accurate identification of individuals with viral infections is crucial for clinical management and public health interventions. We aimed to assess the ability of transcriptomic biomarkers to identify naturally acquired respiratory viral infection before typical symptoms are present.

Methods

In this index-cluster study, we prospectively recruited a cohort of undergraduate students (aged 18-25 years) at Duke University (Durham, NC, USA) over a period of 5 academic years. To identify index cases, we monitored students for the entire academic year, for the presence and severity of eight symptoms of respiratory tract infection using a daily web-based survey, with symptoms rated on a scale of 0-4. Index cases were defined as individuals who reported a 6-point

SUBMITTER: McClain MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7515566 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature