Detection of canine distemper virus in blood samples by reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification

Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) was used to detect canine distemper virus (CDV) genomic RNA. A set of four primers, two outer and two inner, were designed from CDV genomic RNA targeting the nucleocapsid protein gene. The optimal reaction time and temperature for LAMP were determined to be 60 min at 65 degrees C. The relative sensitivity and specificity of RT-LAMP was found to be 100% and 93.3%, respectively, based on 50 canine blood samples and using RT-PCR as the gold standard. The detection limit of the RT-LAMP method was 100 times lower than with RT-PCR (10-1TCID50 ml(-1) versus 10TCID50 ml(-1)). In addition to the advantage resulting from the visual detection of the end-product, the LAMP method is fast, requiring only 1 h to complete the assay. The LAMP method is a viable alternative to RT-PCR for diagnosing CDV infection in dogs. The LAMP method might be useful as an on site diagnostic assay for detecting CDV.