Commercial and in-house PCR methods demonstrated good agreement and high sensitivity for detecting enterovirus RNA across various specimen types, offering a rapid alternative to cell culture.
PCR methods provide a sensitive and rapid alternative to cell culture for diagnosing enterovirus infection, provided cross-contamination is avoided.
We conducted a multicenter evaluation of commercial and in-house PCR methods for the detection of enteroviruses. Three coded panels of test and control RNA samples, artificial clinical specimens, and representative enterovirus serotypes were used to assess amplification methods, RNA extraction methods, and reactivities with different enterovirus serotypes. Despite several differences between PCR methods, there was good agreement, although some variation in sensitivity was observed. Most PCR methods were able to detect enterovirus RNA derived from 0.01 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID50) and were able to detect at least 1 TCID50 of enterovirus in cerebrospinal fluid, stool, or throat swab specimens. Most were also able to detect a wide range of enterovirus serotypes, although serotypic identification was not possible. Some laboratories experienced false-positive results due to PCR contamination, which appeared to result mainly from cross-contamination of specimens during RNA extraction. Provided that this problem is overcome, these PCR methods will prove to be a sensitive and rapid alternative to cell culture for the diagnosis of enterovirus infection.
Muir et al. (Sat,) conducted a other in Enterovirus infection. PCR methods (commercial and in-house) vs. Cell culture was evaluated on Detection of enteroviruses. Commercial and in-house PCR methods demonstrated good agreement and high sensitivity for detecting enterovirus RNA across various specimen types, offering a rapid alternative to cell culture.