EM Detection of Viruses in Organ Transplant Patients

Abstract

Due to immunosuppression, transplant patients are more susceptible to infections, particularly viruses. The strengths of EM detection include the facts that it is rapid, non-invasive or minimally invasive, does not require probes, and can detect many different viruses. A limitation is that is it not as sensitive as PCR, but this can be an advantage in instances where endogenous viruses in healthy individuals may be detected by exquisitely sensitive tests. Additionally, concentration methods, such as ultracentrifugation, ultrafiltration, or immunoaggregation can increase the chances of finding them by EM in fluids, and localization of focal pathology in tissues can be enhanced by semithin sections, on-slide embedment of H&E-stained sections, confocal microscopy, and laser capture.