title: The influence of antibody levels in dengue diagnosis by polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: The potential of RT-PCR to rapidly diagnose dengue infections from both acute and convalescent phase patients' sera was evaluated. The RNA extraction method involved binding of the viral RNA to silica particles in the presence of high concentration of guanidine thiocyanate. The protocol that was established was sensitive enough to detect 40 plaque forming units per 100 microliter of serum and results could be obtained within one day. Results from this study indicate that clinical samples should be collected in the early acute phase of illness when anti-dengue antibodies were undetectable or of low titres to ensure a more reliable diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Kautner
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D002460:Cell Line; D003715:Dengue / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D014773:Virology / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral