Performance of a rapid molecular multiplex assay for the detection of influenza and picornaviruses

Abstract

Multiplex assays are a new strategy for diagnosing respiratory infections. These assays are better than those based on cultures or antigen detection, but few data are available for comparing them to monoplex polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). This study evaluated the performance of the Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel (RVP) Fast assay with reference to 2 real-time PCR assays for detecting type A influenza H1 viruses and human enteroviruses and rhinoviruses. This was an analysis of nasal swab specimens obtained from 590 outpatients suffering from acute respiratory tract disease between September 2009 and February 2010. The RVP Fast assay performed well in less than 4 h for detecting type A influenza H1 viruses, particularly (H1N1)pdm09, and human entero/rhinoviruses, with 95.2% and 90.05% agreement, respectively, when compared to monoplex real-time PCR assays. This multiplex assay also detected at least 1 virus in 69.3% of the specimens and detected multiple infections in 40 samples. The multiplex assay detected clinically important viruses in a single genomic test. It will thus be useful for detecting several viruses causing respiratory tract disorders.