Detection of viral RNA by RT-PCR from serum for molecular diagnosis of measles

Measles continues to be a cause of morbidity and mortality in Côte d'Ivoire although the death rates are weak (2.4%). The monitoring and elimination programme of this disease require a laboratory confirmation testing by diverse methods of diagnosis needing diverse biological products. Serum is usually used for IgM detection. This study has therefore assessed the importance of the measles virus RNA detection from sera of measles suspected cases for confirmation of the case and determination of the genotype. A total of 45 sera tested were split into two groups according to the interval between the rash appearance and the day of blood collection: Group 1 (day 1 to day 3); group (2 day 4 to day 7). Four sera from Group 1 of the 45 (8.9 %) were positive by RT-PCR technique while 10 (22.2%) sera were positive for IgM anti- measles virus by ELISA test. RT-PCR and ELISA showed the same performance in group 1 with a positivity rate of 13.79 %. The B3 genotype was found. This result showed that the viral RNA can be detected in the serum but only from those sera collected the first 3 days after the rash appearance and could be used as palliative in case it is impossible to obtain other biological products.