Use of Reverse Transcriptase PCR in Early Diagnosis of Rift Valley Fever

Reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) for diagnosis of Rift Valley fever (RVF) was evaluated by using 293 human and animal sera sampled during an RVF outbreak in Mauritania in 1998. Results of the RT-PCR diagnostic method were compared with those of virus isolation (VI) and detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies. Our results showed that RT-PCR is a specific, sensitive tool for RVF diagnosis in the early phase of the disease and that its results do not differ significantly from those obtained by VI. Moreover, the combined results of RT-PCR and IgM antibody detection were in 100% concordance with the results of VI.

本研究利用1998年毛里塔尼亚裂谷热（Rift Valley fever，RVF）暴发期间采集的293份人源与动物源血清样本，评估了逆转录聚合酶链式反应（Reverse transcriptase PCR，RT-PCR）用于裂谷热诊断的效能。研究将逆转录聚合酶链式反应诊断法的检测结果，与病毒分离（virus isolation，VI）检测及免疫球蛋白M（immunoglobulin M，IgM）抗体检测的结果进行了对照比较。结果表明，逆转录聚合酶链式反应在疾病早期阶段用于裂谷热诊断时，是一种特异性强、灵敏度高的检测工具，且其检测结果与病毒分离检测所得结果无显著差异。此外，逆转录聚合酶链式反应与免疫球蛋白M抗体检测的联合结果，与病毒分离检测结果的符合率达100%。