A new real-time RT-PCR targeting VP4-VP2 to detect and quantify enterovirus D68 in respiratory samples

Causing an international outbreak of respiratory disease, Enterovirus D68 quickly entered the closed circle of emerging viral pathogens of public health significance. As rapid and accurate detection of EV-D68 is essential for an efficient clinical management, we designed and validated a new highly efficient one-step quantitative rRT-PCR specific to EV-D68 VP4-VP2 region. With 100% specificity and 95.6% sensitivity to all EV-D68 strains, this new assay can be reliably used to detect and quantify EV-D68 in respiratory samples and represents an interesting additional tool for diagnosis as it targets an original region of the genome.