title: Field evaluation of TaqMan Array Card (TAC) for the simultaneous detection of multiple respiratory viruses in children with acute respiratory infection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Multipathogen reverse transcription real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) platforms have proven useful in surveillance for acute respiratory illness (ARI) and study of respiratory outbreaks of unknown etiology. The TaqMan(®) Array Card (TAC, Life Technologies™), can simultaneously test 7 clinical specimens for up to 21 individual pathogens (depending on arrangement of controls and use of duplicate wells) by arrayed singleplex RT-qPCR on a single assay card, using minimal amounts of clinical specimens. A previous study described the development of TAC for the detection of respiratory viral and bacterial pathogens; the assay was evaluated against well-characterized analytical materials and a limited collection of human clinical specimens.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We wished to compare TAC assay performance against standard individual RT-qPCR assays for respiratory viral detection, focusing on 10 viruses (adenovirus, human metapneumovirus, human parainfluenza viruses 1-4, influenza viruses A and B, respiratory syncytial virus, and rhinovirus) from a larger collection of human specimens.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used specimens from 942 children with ARI enrolled systematically in a population-based, ARI surveillance study (New Vaccine Surveillance Network, NVSN).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with standard individual RT-qPCR assays, the sensitivity of TAC for the targeted viruses ranged from 54% to 95% (54%, 56%, and 75% for adenovirus, human parainfluenza viruses-1 and -2, respectively, and 82%-95% for the other viruses). Assay specificity was 99%, and coefficients of variation for virus controls ranged from 1.5% to 4.5%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The TAC assay should prove useful for multipathogen studies and rapid outbreak response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, United States. geoff_weinberg@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Geoffrey A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Weinberg
authors.forename: Kenneth C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Schnabel
authors.forename: Dean D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Erdman
authors.forename: Mila M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Prill
authors.forename: Marika K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Iwane
authors.forename: Lynne M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Shelley
authors.forename: Brett L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Whitaker
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Szilagyi
authors.forename: Caroline B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014773:Virology / Q000379:methods; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D014780:Viruses / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*