title: Avian influenza virus detection and quantitation by real-time RT-PCR.
abstract: Real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) has been used for avian influenza virus (AIV) detection since the early 2000s for routine surveillance, outbreak assessment and for research. Some of the advantages of rRT-PCR are: high sensitivity, high specificity, rapid time-to-result, scalability, cost, and its inherently quantitative nature. Furthermore, rRT-PCR can be used with numerous sample types, is less expensive than virus isolation in chicken embryos, and since infectious virus is inactivated early during processing, biosafety and bio-security are also easier to maintain. However, the high genetic variability of AIV may decrease sensitivity and increases the chances of a false negative result. This chapter provides an overview of the USDA validated rRT-PCR procedure for the detection of type A influenza.
authors.affiliation: Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, US Department of Agriculture, ARS, 934 College Station Rd., Athens, GA, 30605, USA, Erica.spackman@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spackman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000821:virology; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; C031540:M-protein, influenza virus; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins