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Updated: Sep 23, 2026
Development and Validation of a Quantitative PCR Method for Equid Herpesvirus-2 Diagnostics in Respiratory Fluids
Published on: March 17, 2016
Evaluation of an automated system for the quantitation of human Herpesvirus-6 DNA from clinical specimens
Jordan Mah1, ChunHong Huang1, Malaya K Sahoo1
1Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
Background:
Quantitation of human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) DNA in clinical specimens is important for the diagnosis and management of HHV-6-associated infection and reactivation in immunocompromised patients, particularly transplant recipients.
Methods:
The analytical performance of the Altona RealStar ASR HHV-6 qPCR on the semi-automated AltoStar AM16 system was assessed using HHV-6 reference material in plasma and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Qualitative and quantitative agreement was determined using 123 clinical EDTA plasma specimens tested using a laboratory-developed HHV-6 qPCR.
Results:
The 95% Lower Limit of Detection was 20 IU/mL [95% confidence interval (CI): 10 to 29] in plasma and 78 IU/mL (95% CI: 55 to 146) in CSF. The assay was linear from 7.0 to 2.0 log10 IU/mL in both matrices. Overall agreement of the RealStar ASR HHV-6 qPCR on the AltoStar AM16 with a laboratory-developed test was 95.9% (95% CI: 90.8 to 98.7). Passing-Bablok analysis of specimens quantifiable by both methods and at levels >1000 copies/mL revealed a regression line of Y = 1.00*X-0.20, with neither systematic (95% CI Y-intercept: -0.66 to 0.26) nor proportional (95% CI slope: 0.89 to 1.10) bias compared to the reference.
Conclusions:
The RealStar ASR HHV-6 qPCR on the AltoStar AM16 provides accurate quantitation for clinical monitoring of HHV-6 in immunocompromised hosts.
