Current Science

Deepti Parashar ¹, Mandar S. Paingankar ², A. B. Sudeep ¹, Ashwini More ¹, Sapana B. Shinde ¹, Vidya A. Arankalle ¹

Affiliations
1 National Institute of Virology, 20-A Ambedkar Road, Pune 411 001, IN
2 Molecular Biology Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Pune, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411 007, IN

Abstract

The definitive diagnosis ability of IgM ELISA, nested RT-PCR and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was evaluated for Chikungunya diagnosis using 180 clinical samples. Real-time qPCR showed a higher sensitivity (88.3%) for Chikungunya diagnosis in the early stages of infection, while IgM ELISA proved sensitive for the late stages of illness (81.8%). The results suggest that the application of both IgM ELISA and RTPCR based assays will be ideal for definitive diagnosis of Chikungunya during outbreaks.

Keywords

Chikungunya, IgM Capture ELISA, Nested RT-PCR, qPCR.

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Deepti Parashar ¹, A. B. Sudeep ¹, Ashwini More ¹, Poonam Patil ¹, Atul Walimbe ¹, Mangala Mavale ¹, Sarika Amdekar ¹

Affiliations
1 ICMR-National Institute of Virology, 20A, Ambedkar Road, Pune 411 001, IN

Abstract

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a mosquito-borne alphavirus (family Togaviridae), has become a globally major public health problem since 2004 (ref. 1). No vaccines or therapeutics are available except for mosquito control. CHIKV is relatively stable in blood at room temperature and remains viable for at least 8 h (ref. 2). However, no documented data is available regarding survival of CHIKV outside the host, i.e. in serum or infected mosquitoes. Understanding the survival and environmental stability of CHIKV in the above samples is important for effective management during outbreaks and handling clinical samples.

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