A new diagnostic test will speed up detection of enterovirus D68, the microbe that last fall and caused 14 deaths in
Researchers at Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis said Wednesday the test they developed can be completed in a few hours. Previous techniques, which involved sequencing a section of the virus’ genome, required several days.
“It is quite rapid,” said senior author Dr. Gregory Storch, a professor at Washington University.
This new test, he said, is more specific than many commercially available tests, which don’t distinguish between enteroviruses and rhinoviruses that cause the common cold.
The test is extremely effective at identifying various strains of EV-D68, Storch said. There are a number of strains closely related genetically, but these slight variations in their genomes complicated researchers’ efforts to detect all with one test.
The test uses a , a molecular biology technique used to generate thousands to billions of copies of a piece of DNA.
Storch said a similar PCR technique was used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to quickly develop during the height of the outbreak.
“The CDC assay was very good and very fast,” Storch said. “We have had more time to refine it. It is now better able to use a smaller amount of virus.”
“It appears to be a bit more sensitive,” agreed Dr. Kevin Messacar, an infectious-disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, which treated hundreds of cases of EV-D68 during the 2014 outbreak.
The Washington University group has published its results online in The Journal of Clinical Microbiology. They will appear in the August print issue.
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276, edraper@denverpost.com or twitter.com/electadraper
