Applications of Real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction in Clinical Virology Laboratories for the Diagnosis of Human Diseases

Early diagnosis that prevents further expansion of the causative agent and thereby aids control and eradication of infectious agents is critical for countries trying to obtain a particular disease free status. In these diagnostics speed is paramount, including the assay’s applicability, sensitivity, specificity, cost effectiveness and patentability. Real-time Reverse Transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) has revolutionized the field of molecular biology and is being utilized increasingly in novel clinical diagnostic assays. This technique has been applied for rapid detection of point mutation, drug resistant variant and genotyping in several viruses. The combination of excellent sensitivity, specificity, low contamination risk, and speed has made this technique an appealing alternative to cell culture or immunoassay-based testing methods for diagnosing infectious diseases. rRT-PCR assays are most established for the detection of viral load and therapy monitoring. In this review, the usefulness or applications of rRT-PCR assays in the diagnosis of some of the important human viral infections have been summarized.