Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus RNA in Plasma during the Course of Infection

Abstract

We examined severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) RNA in plasma of 32 patients (probable SARS cases) by a quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR assay and reported that the highest detection rate, 75%, was found between day 5 and day 7 of illness, followed by rates of 64, 50, and 38% found between day 8 and day 11, day 2 and day 4, and day 12 and day 16, respectively. Analysis of sequential SARS-CoV load in plasma from six cases revealed different patterns of viremia, with the peak between day 4 and day 8. Our findings of the high detection rate of SARS-CoV RNA in plasma before day 11, together with the relative convenience of collecting and handling plasma, suggest that plasma can be used for early diagnosis of SARS.

Rhinovirus Viremia in Children with Respiratory Infections

“…Viremia has also been implicated in the spread of many viral infections from the upper to the lower respiratory tract (9)(10)(11). Considering the possibility that this mechanism may occur in RV infections as well, of four methods used to detect the virus in this study, only the most sensitive semi-nested reverse transcription-PCR was able to detect RV in the blood.…”

“…The mechanisms by which RV may reach the lower respiratory tract are not clear, although they may include direct inhalation of infected droplets or spread of the virus from the upper airway (6,7). Viremia has been implicated in the spread of other viral infections (8)(9)(10)(11); however, it has been considered that viremia does not occur during acute RV infection in normal individuals. Rhinoviremia has been described in case reports in five instances: in two cases of sudden, unexpected infant death (12); in two older children dying of acute respiratory disease (13,14); and in one with concomitant adenovirus disease (15).…”

Recent advances and perspectives of nucleic acid detection for coronavirus

“…In isothermal conditions, RCA is capable of a 10 9 -fold signal amplification of each circle within 90 min. An efficient assay for the detection of SARS-CoV by RCA was set up in both liquid and solid phases [37], and presented preliminary results on a small number of clinical respiratory specimens. The main advantage of RCA is that it can be performed under isothermal conditions with minimal reagents and avoids the generation of false-positive results, which is frequently encountered in PCR-based assays.…”

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Lower Respiratory Disease in Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients: Viral RNA Detection in Blood, Antiviral Treatment, and Clinical Outcomes

“…In 14 patients, RSV RNA was detected only once (n = 11) or twice (n = 3) during the course of antiviral therapy. One patient had 5 positive samples while on therapy (6,9,13,16, and 20 days after starting ribavirin; Figure 1).…”

“…Although it is clear that presence of viral nucleic acid in blood is relevant for viruses such as cytomegalovirus and adenovirus, its role is less clear for respiratory viruses. Several studies have described the presence of viral nucleic acid in serum, whole blood, and peripheral blood monocytic cells of patients infected with respiratory viruses including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, influenza virus, avian H5N1 influenza virus, rhinovirus, and RSV, and have suggested a correlation with disease severity and poor outcomes [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Recently, evaluation of serum influenza RNA in HCT recipients found that influenza RNA detection was associated with hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and increased overall and influenza-related death [26].…”