Aim: Early diagnosis of dreadful rabies is of utmost importance to
restrict number of contacts and timely administration of post exposure
prophylaxis. The present study was conducted to evaluate the sensitivity
comparison of Nested RT-PCR with TaqMan real time PCR technique for intravitam
diagnosis of rabies in animals from urine samples.
Materials and Methods:
Advance molecular approaches Nested RT-PCR and TaqMan real time PCR was employed
on 21 urine samples for intravitam diagnosis of rabies. Comparison of both the
techniques was done with standard immunofluorescence test (FAT) applied on brain
for postmortem confirmation of rabies.
Result: Rabies viral RNA was
detected in 6/21 (28.57%) and 11/21 (52.38%) urine samples by application of
Nested RT-PCR and TaqMan real time PCR respectively. Sensitivity obtained from
both the techniques was 62.50% and 78.94% respectively when compared with gold
standard immunofluorescence test (FAT). Conclusion: TaqMan real time PCR
can serve as more sensitive and viable approach for the intravitam diagnosis of
rabies as compared to Nested RT-PCR for detection of rabies from urine of
suspected animals. Clinical importance: This study may serve as
background for future intravitam rabies diagnostics.
Keywords: ante
mortem, immunofluorescence, rabies, real time PCR, urine
