[The rapid identification of dengue virus serotypes by the polymerase chain reaction]

4 primer sets, were used to allow the amplification of a nucleotide sequence with unique size for each of the dengue virus serotypes by polymerase chain reaction (PRC). The method consisted in the extraction of ribonucleic acid from supernatant of infected cell cultures, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This was completed in approximately 7 hours in a simple tube. The size of the amplified sequence was evidenced by electrophoresis in Agarose gel stained with ethidium. The method showed a sensitivity of at least 2.5 plate forming units (pfu) per tube of reaction. It es useful for the detection and simultaneous identification of the 4 serotypes, starting from supernatants of infected strains cultures from different countries of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.