title: Evaluation of different assays for the detection of parvovirus B19 DNA in human plasma.
abstract: Human parvovirus B19 is a frequent contaminant of blood and plasma-derived medicinal products and transmission of this virus has been shown to occur through the administration of contaminated products. Inactivation of the virus has proved difficult and as a consequence, manufacturers of blood products have implemented screening measures to reduce the load of parvovirus B19 in manufacturing plasma pools by the use of nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAT). We present data comparing the performance of two commercially available kits for the detection and quantitation of parvovirus B19 DNA using the LightCycler, and determine their applicability for the detection of recently discovered variants of the virus. Parvovirus B19 DNA was readily quantified using both commercial assays. However, one kit failed to detect any of the variant viruses. The second kit detected the variant viruses although there was a marked difference in the sensitivity of detection of the different virus genotypes. To improve the detection of these variant viruses a novel assay has been developed and data are presented to show its use for screening pooled plasma for the presence of parvovirus B19 DNA and the variants identified recently.
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, UK. sbaylis@nibsc.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sally A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Baylis
authors.forename: Nita
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Philip D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Minor
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010322:Parvoviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D016732:Parvovirus B19, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D019562:Viral Load; D014766:Viremia
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic