Establishment of a fluorescent polymerase chain reaction method for the detection of the SARS-associated coronavirus and its clinical application / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (F-PCR) method for detecting the coronavirus related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and to evaluate its value for clinical application.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The primers and the fluorescence-labeled probe were designed and synthesized according to the published sequence of the SARS-associated coronavirus genes. A F-PCR diagnosis kit for detecting the coronavirus was developed, and 115 clinical nasopharyngeal gargling liquid samples were tested.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The sequence of PCR amplified products completely matched the related sequence of the SARS-associated coronavirus genome. Forty-nine out of 67 samples from identified SARS patients and 8 of 18 samples from persons having close contact with SARS patients showed positive results. All 30 samples from healthy controls were negative.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The F-PCR method established may be a rapid, accurate and efficient way for screening and for the early diagnosis of SARS patients.</p>