Title: Chapter 17 Detection of HHV-6 using polymerase chain reaction amplification
Abstract: Over the last few years, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been used increasingly for diagnosis as well as for studying the biology of herpesviruses, including HHV-6. This chapter discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of herpesviruses. PCR has many advantages over conventional assays. First, the technique directly detects the viral genome. It avoids the technical difficulties and the time involved in tissue culturing. Second, many different sample types, from body fluids to archival, paraffin-embedded specimens can be analyzed. Third, the reaction is extremely sensitive. The main disadvantage of PCR is that low-level contamination of samples, especially from carry-over of reaction products, can easily lead to false positive results unless extreme care is taken.
Publication Year: 1992
Publication Date: 1992-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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