Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2011; 32(4): 512-526
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1283288
© Thieme Medical Publishers

Molecular Assays for the Detection and Characterization of Respiratory Viruses

Yingjun Yan1 , 3 , Shu Zhang1 , 4 , Yi-Wei Tang1 , 2
  • 1Department of Pathology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
  • 2Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
  • 3Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Science and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
  • 4Department of Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Publikationsdatum:
19. August 2011 (online)

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ABSTRACT

Patient care providers face an enormous challenge in diagnosing vial respiratory diseases because of similar clinical manifestations, as well as insensitivity and/or slow conventional laboratory detection methods. Nucleic acid–targeted molecular assays are playing critical roles in rapid detection, screening, and identification of respiratory viral pathogens due to their high sensitivity and specificity, short test turnaround time, as well as automatic and high-throughput processing. User-developed and commercial molecular methods have gradually been developed and become available for detection and identification of common viral pathogens causing respiratory tract infections. Incorporated with cutting edge techniques, these methods can be used to detect one or more pathogens in a single reaction tube qualitatively and quantitatively. Although the molecular assays have been increasingly used in the clinical setting, laboratorians and clinicians should well know the limitations of these molecular assays to wisely choose the right tests and correctly interpret test results.

REFERENCES

Yi-Wei TangM.D. Ph.D. 

Molecular Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

4605 TVC, 1161 21st. Ave. South, Nashville, TN 37232-5310

eMail: yiwei.tang@vanderbilt.edu