Avian Influenza Research & Diagnostic Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 177 Hyeoksin 8-ro, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 39660, South Korea.
Avian Influenza Research & Diagnostic Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 177 Hyeoksin 8-ro, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 39660, South Korea.
J Virol Methods. 2024 Jun;327:114942. doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2024.114942. Epub 2024 Apr 24.
H5, H7 and H9 are the major subtypes of avian influenza virus (AIV) that cause economic losses in the poultry industry and sporadic zoonotic infection. Early detection of AIV is essential for preventing disease spread. Therefore, molecular diagnosis and subtyping of AIV via real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) is preferred over other classical diagnostic methods, such as egg inoculation, RT-PCR and HI test, due to its high sensitivity, specificity and convenience. The singleplex rRT-PCRs for the Matrix, H5 and H7 gene used for the national surveillance program in Korea have been developed in 2017; however, these methods were not designed for multiplexing, and does not reflect the sequences of currently circulating strains completely. In this study, the multiplex H5/7/9 rRT-PCR assay was developed with sets of primers and probe updated or newly designed to simultaneously detect the H5, H7 and H9 genes. Multiplex H5/7/9 rRT-PCR showed 100% specificity without cross-reactivity with other subtypes of AIVs and avian disease-causing viruses or bacteria, and the limit of detection was 1-10 EID/0.1 ml (50% egg infectious dose). Artificial mixed infections with the three different subtypes could be detected accurately with high analytical sensitivity even under highly biased relative molecular ratios by balancing the reactivities of each subtype by modifying the concentration of the primers and probes. The multiplex H5/7/9 rRT-PCR assay developed in this study could be a useful tool for large-scale surveillance programs for viral detection as well as subtyping due to its high specificity, sensitivity and robustness in discriminating viruses in mixed infections, and this approach would greatly decrease the time, cost, effort and chance of cross-contamination compared to the conventional method of testing three subtypes by different singleplex rRT-PCR methods in parallel or in series.
H5、H7 和 H9 是导致家禽业经济损失和散发性人畜共患病感染的主要禽流感病毒 (AIV) 亚型。早期检测 AIV 对于防止疾病传播至关重要。因此,与其他经典诊断方法(如卵接种、RT-PCR 和 HI 试验)相比,通过实时 RT-PCR(rRT-PCR)进行 AIV 的分子诊断和亚型鉴定更受青睐,因为它具有高灵敏度、特异性和便利性。韩国国家监测计划于 2017 年开发了用于基质、H5 和 H7 基因的单重 rRT-PCR;然而,这些方法不是为多重检测设计的,并且不能完全反映当前流行株的序列。在这项研究中,开发了一种多重 H5/7/9 rRT-PCR 检测方法,使用更新或新设计的引物和探针组来同时检测 H5、H7 和 H9 基因。多重 H5/7/9 rRT-PCR 显示出 100%的特异性,与其他 AIV 亚型和禽病致病病毒或细菌无交叉反应,检测限为 1-10 EID/0.1 ml(50%卵感染剂量)。通过修改引物和探针的浓度来平衡每种亚型的反应性,即使在高度偏向的相对分子比下,也可以准确检测到三种不同亚型的人工混合感染,具有很高的分析灵敏度。本研究开发的多重 H5/7/9 rRT-PCR 检测方法由于其在区分混合感染病毒方面的高特异性、灵敏度和稳健性,可作为大规模病毒检测和亚型鉴定的有用工具,与传统的通过不同单重 rRT-PCR 方法平行或串联检测三种亚型的方法相比,大大减少了时间、成本、工作量和交叉污染的机会。