title: Detection of influenza virus infection using two PCR methods.
abstract: Rapid, accurate, and cost-effective methods to identify the cause of respiratory tract infections are needed to maximize clinical benefit. Outpatients with acute respiratory illness were tested for influenza using a singleplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (SRT-PCR) method. A multiplex RT-PCR (MRT-PCR) method tested for influenza and 17 other viruses and was compared with SRT-PCR using chi-square tests. Among 935 patients, 335 (36%) tested positive for influenza A and influenza B using SRT-PCR. Using MRT-PCR, 320 (34.2%) tested positive for influenza A and influenza B. This study supports MRT-PCR as a comparable method for detecting influenza among patients seeking outpatient care for acute respiratory illnesses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3518 5th Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Richard K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA 15261, USA ; Department of Infectious Disease and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Charles R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Rinaldo
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3518 5th Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Mary Patricia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Nowalk
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Balasubramani
authors.affiliation: Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30307, USA.
authors.forename: Mark G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Arlene
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bullotta
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3518 5th Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Susick
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wisniewski