Polymerase chain reaction for diagnosis and identification of distinct variants of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in the United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

Viral hemorrhagic fever has re-emerged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since November 1993. Genomic RNA of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic virus (C-CHFV) was detected by a newly developed, nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the sera of four (25.0%) of 16 suspected cases of viral hemorrhagic fever. The RT-PCR was based on oligonucleotide primers deducted from the small RNA segment encoding the nucleoprotein of the virus. By comparison with a nucleotide sequence of a C-CHFV isolate from a Chinese sheep, a divergence of 10.0-11.8% was detected in the C-CHFV variants causing the UAE outbreak. In the four positive sera, three phylogenetically distinct C-CHFV variants were amplified and confirmed by direct sequencing of the PCR fragments. These C-CHFV sequences were obtained directly from sera of infected humans without prior propagation in cell culture. The RT-PCR allows rapid detection of genomic C-CHFV RNA in clinical specimens and study of the molecular epidemiology of this infection.

• Authors: T F Schwarz, H Nsanze, M Longson, H Nitschko, S Gilch, H Shurie, A Ameen, A R Zahir, U G Acharya, G Jager
• Journal: The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene (Am J Trop Med Hyg) Vol. 55 Issue 2 Pg. 190-6 (Aug 1996) ISSN: 0002-9637 [Print] United States
• PMID: 8780459 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• DNA Primers
• RNA, Viral

Topics

• Amino Acid Sequence
• Animals
• Base Sequence
• Chlorocebus aethiops
• Consensus Sequence
• DNA Primers (chemistry)
• Disease Outbreaks
• Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo (classification, genetics, isolation & purification)
• Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean (diagnosis, epidemiology, virology)
• Humans
• Male
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Phylogeny
• Polymerase Chain Reaction
• RNA, Viral (chemistry, isolation & purification)
• United Arab Emirates (epidemiology)
• Vero Cells