title: [Application of molecular methods in the diagnosis and epidemiological study of viral respiratory infections].
abstract: To date, more than two hundred viruses, belonging to six different taxonomic families, have been associated with human respiratory tract infection. The widespread incorporation of molecular methods into clinical microbiology laboratories has not only led to notable advances in the etiological diagnosis of viral respiratory infections but has also increased insight into the pathology and epidemiological profiles of the causative viruses. Because of their high sensitivity, molecular techniques markedly increase the efficiency of viral detection in respiratory specimens, particularly those that fail to propagate successfully in common cell cultures, thus allowing more rapid etiologic diagnosis. However, there are also some disadvantages in the use of these new technologies such as detection of viruses that merely colonize the respiratory tract of healthy people, or those found in the nasopharyngeal secretions of patients who have recovered from respiratory infections, due to longterm viral shedding, when the viruses are unlikely to act as pathogens. Additionally, sequencing of the amplification products allows further characterization of detected viruses, including molecular epidemiology, genotyping, or detection of antiviral resistance, to cite only a few examples.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Gripe y Virus Respiratorios, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, España. pacopozo@isciii.es
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pozo
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Casas
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falcón
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pérez-Breña
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D052660:Bocavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000821:virology; D002648:Child; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D017921:Mastadenovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D029121:Metapneumovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D009975:Orthomyxoviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018098:Paramyxovirinae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010849:Picornaviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000821:virology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology