[Laboratory diagnostics of Crimean hemorrhagic fever by polymerase chain reaction]

Our group developed, within the present case study, two techniques' variations, i.e. a single-step RT-PCR and nested RT-PCR assays, for the purpose of detecting the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever RNA virus in human samples. The above assays as well as those previously recommended by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation were simultaneously used in 14 clinical samples obtained from patients with Crimean hemorrhagic fever. After assessing the detection accuracy, it was found that the developed-by-us test system displayed the same or even better diagnostic values versus the previously recommended nested RT-PCR and a 1000-fold advantage over the previously recommended single-step RT-PCA. The single-step RT-PCR assay variation is always more preferable in sense of technical and economic motivations. Finally, the test system developed by us has every reason to become the method of choice in routine PCR diagnosis of Crimean hemorrhagic fever after all official trials and approvals are duly complied with.