Novel, In-House, SYBR Green Based One-Step rRT-PCR: Rapid and Accurate Diagnosis of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Suspected Patients From Iran

Diagnostic Testing for Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is the most geographically widespread tick-borne virus, with infection resulting in mortality in up to 30% of cases. Clinical diagnosis alone is difficult due to the nonspecific nature of symptoms; therefore, laboratory diagnostics should be utilized for patients with residence in or travel to regions of endemicity in whom the disease is suspected. This minireview provides an overview of laboratory tests available for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and their utility in diagnosis with a focus on diagnosing CCHF in humans.

Diagnostic approaches for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus

Introduction: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a potentially severe tick-borne viral disease endemic in several regions of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Rapid and reliable diagnosis is essential for early initiation of patient's treatment and for prompt implementation of appropriate precaution and infection control measures to prevent further spread of the disease. Areas covered: A literature search was undertaken on available approaches for laboratory diagnosis of CCHF infections, and the advantages and limitations of the assays are discussed. Expert opinion: Given that the genetic variability among CCHFV strains is high, attention has to be paid on the molecular protocols to detect all currently known genetic lineages of the virus as the emergence of CCHFV strains belonging to various lineages in new environments is not unexpected. In severe cases, the antibody production may be delayed or absent. It is important that the laboratories involved in CCHFV diagnostics to run quality control assays. Standardized assays and point-of-care tests with high sensitivity and specificity are needed. It is expected that the application of next-generation sequencing will be a powerful tool for CCHF diagnostics. Awareness, preparedness, and surveillance are required for prompt detection of CCHF cases.

Supramolecular Strategy Based on Conjugated Polymers for Discrimination of Virus and Pathogens

A conjugated polymer-based supramolecular system is designed for discrimination of virus and microbes. The supramolecular system is composed of cationic polythiophene derivative (PT) and barrel-shaped macrocyclic molecular cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]). Because PT and PT/CB[7] complexes possess different interaction manners toward virus and microbes, the rapid and simple discrimination of virus and microbes was realized through polymer fluorescence intensity change assisting with standard linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The supramolecular strategy would expand the idea of designing biological probes and further promote the extensive application of conjugated polymer materials in biosensor field.