title: Subtype-specific, probe-based, real-time PCR for detection and typing of human herpesvirus-6 encephalitis from pediatric patients under the age of 2 years.
abstract: To investigate the frequency of human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) encephalitis in pediatric patients under 2 years of age, we developed a method for the simultaneous detection and differentiation of the 2 variants of HHV-6 (HHV-6A and HHV-6B) using subtype-specific, probe-based, real-time PCR (SSPBRT-PCR) and which were further evaluated on 405 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens from children with suspected encephalitis. A total of 23 (5.70%) out of 405 CSF specimens were positive by SSPBRT-PCR, including 3 cases of HHV-6A and 20 cases of HHV-6B. The positive rate of HHV-6B was significantly higher than that of HHV-6A (P = 0.0004). Compared with the results of the conventional real-time PCR, the sensitivity and specificity of the SSPBRT-PCR assay were 95.24% and 99.22%, respectively. This study suggests a role for both variants of HHV-6 in the pathogenesis of viral encephalitis. SSPBRT-PCR can provide rapid, sensitive, and specific results for identification of HHV-6A and HHV-6B and management of HHV-6 encephalitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine and Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Therapy of Neonatal Diseases, 310003 Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Jintu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Yidong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Meiting
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Xiujing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shiqiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shang
mesh_terms: D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000821:virology; D018792:Encephalitis, Viral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D019349:Roseolovirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014773:Virology / Q000379:methods*