Detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus in stool specimens by commercially available real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assays.
Three commercially available real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assays (the Artus RealArt HPA coronavirus LightCycler, the Artus RealArt HPA coronavirus Rotor-Gene, and the EraGen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus POL assay) and three RNA extraction methodologies were evaluated for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus RNA from 91 stool specimens. The assays' sensitivities were highest (58% to 75%) for specimens obtained 8 to 21 days after symptom onset. The assays were less sensitive when specimens were obtained less than 8 days or more than 21 days after the onset of symptoms. All assays were 100% specific.
Louie
L
L
Department of Microbiology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, B121-2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4N 3M5. lisa.louie@sunnybrook.ca
Simor
A E
AE
Chong
S
S
Luinstra
K
K
Petrich
A
A
Mahony
J
J
Smieja
M
M
Johnson
G
G
Gharabaghi
F
F
Tellier
R
R
Willey
B M
BM
Poutanen
S
S
Mazzulli
T
T
Broukhanski
G
G
Jamieson
F
F
Louie
M
M
Richardson
S
S
D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D012367:RNA, Viral