Human adenovirus PCR screen

Test code: S0177 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection but not differentiation of most reported human adenoviruses by real time polymerase chain reaction

Adenoviruses, members of the family Adenoviridae, are nonenveloped viruses with an icosahedral nucleocapsid containing a double stranded DNA genome. These viruses survive well in the environment and can infect both humans and animals.

In humans, more than 50 serotypes of adenovirus have been identified. Human adenoviruses commonly infect the respiratory and GI tracts, the eye, and various other tissues. Most infections are asymptomatic, but long-term persistent infections are possible, and are a major concern to immunocompromised patients. Adenoviruses are known to be oncogenic in rodents but not in humans. They can be transmitted via direct inoculation to the conjunctiva, the fecal-oral route, aerosolized droplets, or through exposure to infected tissue or blood.

Serological diagnosis of adenoviral infection may not be suitable because of anti-adenovirus antibodies resulting from previous exposures. Culture detection of these viruses may take up to three weeks. However, molecular detection by polymerase chain reaction is highly sensitive, specific and rapid, and is a useful detection method for these viruses (Al-Siyabi et al., 2013).

Utilities:

• Help confirm the disease causing agent
• Environmental monitoring
• Help ensure that animal populations are free of human adenoviruses
• Early prevention of spread of these viruses among a group of animals
• Minimize human exposure to these viruses
• Safety monitoring of biological products and vaccines that derive from susceptible animals

References:
Al-Siyabi, T., Binkhamis, K., Wilcox, M., Wong, S., Pabbaraju, K., Tellier, R. and Hatchette, T.F. (2013) A cost effective real-time PCR for the detection of adenovirus from viral swabs. Virol. J. 10:184-195.

Specimen requirements: 0.2 ml whole blood in EDTA (purple top) tube, or 0.2 ml cerebrospinal fluid, or 0.2 ml feces or 0.2 ml urine, or fecal swab, or nasopharyngeal swab, or conjunctival swab.

Contact Zoologix if advice is needed to determine an appropriate specimen type for a specific diagnostic application. For specimen types not listed here, please contact Zoologix to confirm specimen acceptability and shipping instructions.
For all specimen types, if there will be a delay in shipping, or during very warm weather, refrigerate specimens until shipped and ship with a cold pack unless more stringent shipping requirements are specified. Frozen specimens should be shipped so as to remain frozen in transit. See shipping instructions for more information.

Turnaround time: 2 business days

Methodology: Qualitative real time PCR

Normal range: Nondetected