Comparison between RT-PCR and rapid agglutination test for diagnosis of human rotavirus infection.

ABSTRACT

Rotavirus represents the major cause of dehydrating diarrhea among infants and young children on worldwide scale and has recently become the target of research aimed at developing a vaccine. To that end, screening tests of clinical specimens ought to provide high sensitivity and specificity. Hence, in order to achieve that aim we compared a commercially available latex agglutination (LA) kit with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using primers amplifying the gene for the major neutralization antigen in 71 stool samples of children with acute gastroenteritis during November 1998-April 1999. Based on accuracy (76.05%), specificity (86.8%) and sensitivity (63.6%) determined for LA with RT-PCR serving as the gold standard, we recommend LA for field studies where speed and simplicity are crucial. Yet, for the purpose of further studies as to epidemiology and vaccine trials RT-PCR with its higher specificity and sensitivity will be required.