SYBR green real-time PCR for the detection of all enterovirus-A71 genogroups
Audrey Dubot-Pérès1, Charlene Y Q Tan2, Reine de Chesse2
1Unité Mixte de Recherche_D 190 "Emergence des Pathologies Virales" (Aix-Marseille University, IRD French Institute of Research for Development, EHESP French School of Public Health), Marseille, France; Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit, Microbiology Laboratory, Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Lao PDR; Centre for Tropical Medicine, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) has recently become an important public health threat, especially in South-East Asia, where it has caused massive outbreaks of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease every year, resulting in significant mortality. Rapid detection of EV-A71 early in outbreaks would facilitate implementation of prevention and control measures to limit spread. Real-time RT-PCR is the technique of choice for the rapid diagnosis of EV-A71 infection and several systems have been developed to detect circulating strains. Although eight genogroups have been described globally, none of these PCR techniques detect all eight. We describe, for the first time, a SYBR Green real-time RT-PCR system validated to detect all 8 EV-A71 genogroups. This tool could permit the early detection and shift in genogroup circulation and the standardization of HFMD virological diagnosis, facilitating networking of laboratories working on EV-A71 in different regions.
