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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2004, p. 2094-2100, Vol. 42, No. 5
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.5.2094-2100.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Comparison of Two Real-Time Quantitative Assays for Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

Michael K. Hourfar, W. Kurt Roth, Erhard Seifried, and Michael Schmidt*

Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology, German Red Cross, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

Received 31 October 2003/ Returned for modification 28 November 2003/ Accepted 25 December 2003

The new severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (CoV), described in February 2003, infected a total of 8,439 people. A total of 812 people died due to respiratory insufficiency. Close contact with symptomatic patients appeared to be the main route of transmission. However, potential transmission by blood transfusion could not be definitely excluded. Two real-time SARS-specific PCR assays were assessed for their sensitivities, agreement of test results, and intra-assay variabilities. Both assays rely on reverse transcription and amplification of extracted RNA. Dilutions of gamma-irradiated cell culture supernatants of SARS CoV-infected Vero E6 cells were prepared to determine the precisions, linear ranges, and accuracies of the assays. The linear range for the Artus RealArt HPA-Coronavirus assay (Artus assay) was 1 x 102 to 1 x 107 copies/ml, and that for the Roche LightCycler SARS CoV Quantification kit (Roche assay) was 1 x 104 to 2 x 108 copies/ml. The detection limit of the Roche assay was 3,982.1 copies/ml, whereas that of the Artus assay was 37.8 copies/ml. Detection limits were calculated with a standard preparation that was recommended for use by the World Health Organization. However, quantification of CoV in this preparation may be imprecise. In summary, both assays are suitable for quantitative measurement of SARS CoV at the high concentrations expected in sputum samples. The Artus assay is also suitable for detection of SARS CoV at the low concentrations found in serum samples.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Immunohematology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, German Red Cross, Sandhofstr. 1, 60528 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Phone: 0049-696782-367. Fax: 0049-696782-289. E-mail: mschmidt{at}bsdhessen.de.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2004, p. 2094-2100, Vol. 42, No. 5
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.5.2094-2100.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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