title: Rapid detection of herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus infections by real-time PCR.
abstract: The herpes simplex viruses types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) can cause life-threatening infections of the central nervous system and lead to severe infections in immunocompromised subjects and newborns. In these cases, rapid diagnosis is crucial. We developed three different real-time PCR assays based on TaqMan chemistry for the LightCycler instrument to detect HSV-1, HSV-2, and VZV. When the TaqMan assays were compared to our in-house nested PCR assays, the test systems had equal sensitivities of <or=10 plasmid copies per assay. When clinical samples were investigated by TaqMan PCR to detect HSV-1, HSV-2, and VZV DNA, 95, 100, and 96% of the samples determined to be positive by nested PCR, respectively, were positive by the real-time PCR assays. The specificities of all PCR assays were almost 100%. Furthermore, the TaqMan PCR assays could be performed within 2.5 h, whereas nested PCR results were available after 9 h. In addition to offering more rapid results, the TaqMan PCR assays appear to be less expensive than nested PCR assays due to less hands-on time. In summary, TaqMan PCR is an excellent alternative to conventional nested PCR assays for the rapid detection of HSV-1, HSV-2, and VZV in clinical samples.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weidmann
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Meyer-König
authors.forename: Frank T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Hufert
mesh_terms: D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000821:virology*; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000821:virology*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D019914:Taq Polymerase; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral; D019914:Taq Polymerase