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Detection of human herpesvirus‐6 DNA by polymerase chain reaction in serum or plasma
Author(s) -
Huang LiMin,
Kuo PeiFen,
Lee ChinYun,
Chen JenYang,
Liu MeiYing,
Yang CzauSiung
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.1890380103
Subject(s) - polymerase chain reaction , virology , serology , antibody , human herpesvirus 6 , herpesviridae , biology , real time polymerase chain reaction , dna , virus , immunology , immune system , viral disease , gene , biochemistry , genetics
Human herpesvirus‐6 (HHV‐6) is a newly identified human pathogen. Currently clinicians rely mainly on blood lymphocyte culture and serological tests to diagnose HHV‐6 infection. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out on the plasma or sera of patients to determine the value of PCR in the diagnosis of HHV‐6 infection. A total of 30 patients entered the study; 10 were experiencing acute HHV‐6 infections and 20 were healthy and served as controls. HHV‐6 DNA was detected by PCR in the serum or plasma of the 10 cases with acute HHV‐6 infections. All 20 controls had no HHV‐6 DNA in their sera. The time for serum to become PCR‐positive coincided with the appearance of IgG HHV‐6 antibody. The relatively late presence of HHV‐6 DNA in serum might result from late lysis of infected cells by immune responses. It is concluded that detection of HHV‐6 DNA by PCR in the serum is a valuable tool for the diagnosis of acute and/or active viral infection. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.