Use of TaqMan Array card for the detection of respiratory viral pathogens in children under 5 years old hospitalised with acute medical illness in Ballabgarh, Haryana, India

Bharti Gaur, Siddhartha Saha, A Danielle Iuliano, Sanjay K Rai, Anand Krishnan, Seema Jain, Brett Whitaker, Jonas Winchell, Renu B Lal, Shobha BroorIndian Journal of Medical Microbiology 2019 37(1):105-108 Historical specimens collected from hospitalized children were tested for the following 13 viruses: influenza A and B; respiratory syncytial virus (RSV); parainfluenza viruses 1–3; human metapneumovirus; rhinovirus; coronaviruses 229E, OC43, NL63 and HKU1 and Adenovirus using monoplex real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR). They were retested using TaqMan Array Card (TAC), a micro-fluidic system, capable of simultaneous multi-pathogen testing, to evaluate its sensitivity and specificity against monoplex rRT-PCR. TAC showed high sensitivity (71%–100%) and specificity (98%–100%) for these viruses in comparison to monoplex rRT-PCR. Multi-specimen detection with high sensitivity and specificity makes TAC a potentially useful tool for both surveillance and outbreak investigations.
Source: Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Source Type: research