Ante mortem diagnosis of human rabies using saliva samples: comparison of real time and conventional RT-PCR techniques

Nagaraj, T. ; Vasanth, Joel P. ; Desai, Anita ; Kamat, Anupa ; Madhusudana, S. N. ; Ravi, V. (2006) Ante mortem diagnosis of human rabies using saliva samples: comparison of real time and conventional RT-PCR techniques Journal of Clinical Virology, 36 (1). pp. 17-23. ISSN 1386-6532

Full text not available from this repository.

Official URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S...

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2006.01.009

Abstract

Background Rabies is an enzootic and fatal disease and is still a major problem in developing countries. Ante mortem diagnosis in human cases is necessary for medical management of the patient and to ensure appropriate post-exposure treatment of contacts. Both conventional RT-PCR and Real time PCR (TaqMan) have been described for the detection of rabies virus RNA from saliva and tissue respectively, however to date, there have been no studies comparing conventional and real time PCR assays for detection of rabies virus nucleic acid using saliva samples for ante mortem diagnosis. Objectives In this study, we evaluated the utility of conventional RT-PCR and SYBR Green I Real time PCR in the ante mortem diagnosis of rabies using saliva samples. Study design Saliva samples collected from twenty-four patients presenting with typical clinical manifestations of rabies were tested in the two assays. Results Amongst the 24 samples tested, 21 samples (87.5%) were positive by either of the two molecular methods. Of these 21, rabies virus RNA was detected in 6/21 in the conventional RT-PCR assay while SYBR Green I Real time PCR could detect RNA in 18/21 samples. Conclusion Real time PCR assay was more sensitive than conventional RT-PCR assay (sensitivity 75% versus 37%, p = 0.0189). This study highlights the utility of molecular diagnostic tests in establishing ante mortem diagnosis of rabies using saliva samples within a few hours.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to Elsevier Science.
Keywords:Rabies Virus; Saliva; RT-PCR; Real Time SYBR Green I
ID Code:63648
Deposited On:29 Sep 2011 06:29
Last Modified:29 Sep 2011 06:29

Repository Staff Only: item control page