Chayeb Vera A, Dolgova Anna S, Popova Margarita R, Zheleznova Nina V, Shirobokova Svetlana A, Shabalina Anna V, Sharova Alena A, Gladkikh Anna S, Antipova Anastasia Yu, Kirichenko Anastasiia D, Ramsay Edward S, Dedkov Vladimir G
Saint-Petersburg Pasteur Institute, Federal Service on Consumers' Rights Protection and Human Well-Being Surveillance, 197101 Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector Borne Diseases, First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), 119048 Moscow, Russia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Feb 20;26(5):1801. doi: 10.3390/ijms26051801.
The severity of MeV infection has been greatly reduced by the development of a live attenuated vaccine, which has been incorporated into vaccination programs in many countries. However, poor access to health facilities, and above all, the increase in anti-vaccination movements, has prevented the achievement of sufficient vaccination coverage. In outbreak scenarios, a rapid and transportable method can improve differential diagnosis, including removing ambiguity in suspected measles cases, contacts, or a cohort. In response to the need, we have developed a new RT-qPCR-based MeV detection assay. The LOD of the developed assay was determined on different PCR machines and the higher threshold was 1-1.2 10 copies/mL. The joint diagnostic sensitivity of ELISA and RT-PCR (used together) was 100%, and used combinedly, these two methods enable detection of all measles-infected persons, which is extremely important for controlling contagion and spread of infection. During the clinical validation of the assay on 200 clinical samples from measles-suspected cases using ELISA, 157 samples showed a positive result, while 163 positive cases were confirmed by the RT-qPCR assay. The concordance between the two techniques was 93%. According to our results, the real-time RT-PCR approach used in our study is more sensitive and appears to be a more promising method for measles diagnosis during early stages of the disease, likely before the rise of specific IgM antibodies detected by ELISA.
减毒活疫苗的研发极大地降低了麻疹病毒（MeV）感染的严重程度，许多国家已将其纳入疫苗接种计划。然而，获得医疗设施的机会有限，尤其是反疫苗运动的增加，阻碍了实现足够的疫苗接种覆盖率。在疫情爆发的情况下，一种快速且便于运输的方法可以改善鉴别诊断，包括消除疑似麻疹病例、接触者或群组中的不确定性。为满足这一需求，我们开发了一种基于逆转录定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）的新型MeV检测方法。在不同的PCR仪器上测定了所开发方法的检测限，较高阈值为1-1.2×10拷贝/毫升。酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）和RT-PCR（联合使用）的联合诊断敏感性为100%，这两种方法联合使用能够检测出所有感染麻疹的人，这对于控制感染的传播极为重要。在使用ELISA对200份疑似麻疹病例的临床样本进行该检测方法的临床验证过程中，157份样本显示阳性结果，而RT-qPCR检测方法确认了163例阳性病例。两种技术之间的一致性为93%。根据我们的结果，我们研究中使用的实时RT-PCR方法更敏感，似乎是在疾病早期（可能在ELISA检测到特异性IgM抗体升高之前）诊断麻疹更有前景的方法。
