Diagnosis of Human Viruses by Polymerase Chain Reaction Technology, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1992 Coll. Frontiers of Virology, Vol. 1

The basis for the effective treatment and cure of a patient is the rapid diagnosis of the disease and its causative agent, which is based on the analysis of the clinical symptoms coupled with laboratory tests. Although rapid advance­ ments have been made in the laboratory diagnosis of virus diseases, the neces­ sary isolation of the causative virus from the clinical specimens is a relatively long procedure. Viruses which integrate into the cellular DNA (such as human immunodeficiency virus, HIV -1, or hepatitis B virus) are difficult to identify by molecular techniques, while viruses which exist in the clinical material in low concentrations are even more formidable to identify. Recently, the application of the polymerase chain reaction (peR) technique developed by K. D. Mullis and detailed in the study by Saiki et al. (1985) led to a revolution in virus diagnosis. The peR technique was rapidly applied to the diagnosis of viruses in clinical material. Volume 1 of Frontiers of Virology provides new information on the advan­ tages of the use of the peR for the diagnosis of many human disease-causing viruses, as well as on some problems with its use.

Section I Human Retroviruses.- 1 Diagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection by Polymerase Chain Reaction.- 2 Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Detection by Polymerase Chain Reaction in Children of Infected Mothers.- 3 Detection of Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Provirus: Semiquantitative, Nested, Double Polymerase Chain Reaction.- 4 Detection of Human T-cell Leukemia Viruses.- 5 Detection of Human Spumaviruses by Polymerase Chain Reaction.- Section II Human Hepatitis Viruses.- 6 Antigen Capture/Polymerase Chain Reaction for the Detection of Hepatitis A Virus in Human Clinical Materials.- 7 Clinical Diagnosis of Hepatitis B Infection: Applications of the Polymerase Chain Reaction.- 8 Application of Polymerase Chain Reaction to Hepatitis C Virus Research and Diagnostics.- 9 Polymerase Chain Reaction for Hepatitis Delta Virus RNA Identification and Characterization.- Section ID Human Herpes Viruses.- 10 Polymerase Chain Reaction Detection of Herpes Simplex Virus in Cerebrospinal Fluid.- 11 Polymerase Chain Reaction Diagnosis of Varicella Zoster Virus.- 12 Detection of Human Cytomegalovirus by Polymerase Chain Reaction.- 13 Semiquantitative Analysis of Epstein-Barr Virus DNA by Polymerase Chain Reaction in Clinical Samples of Lymphoproliferative Disorders.- 14 Detection of Human Herpesvirus 6 DNA in Clinical Samples of Patients by Polymerase Chain Reaction Amplification.- Section IV Human Papova Viruses.- 15 Human Papillomavirus Infections of the Genital Tract: Clinical Significance and Diagnosis by Polymerase Chain Reaction.- 16 Human Papillomavirus Types 6 and 11 in Tumors.- 17 Detection of JC and BK Viruses in Pathological Specimens by Polymerase Chain Reaction.- Section V Airborne and Respiratory Viruses.- 18 Diagnosis of Prenatal Rubella by Polymerase Chain Reaction.- 19 Detection of Measles Virus in Subacute Sclerosing Panen-cephalitis Brain Tissue.- 20 The Use of the Polymerase Chain Reaction in Influenza Virus Detection and Characterization.- 21 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Detection of Rhino-viruses.- 22 Polymerase Chain Reaction Diagnosis of Human Parvo virus B19.- 23 Polymerase Chain Reaction for the Detection of Adeno-viruses.- 24 Detection of Coronaviruses by the Polymerase Chain Reaction.- Section VI Disease Causing RNA Viruses.- 25 Detection of Human Enteroviruses Using the Polymerase Chain Reaction.- 26 Polymerase Chain Reaction Detection and Typing of Ro-taviruses in Fecal Specimens.- 27 Detection and Identification of Flaviviruses by Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction.- 28 Polymerase Chain Reaction for Detection of Hantaviruses.- 29 Polymerase Chain Reaction Technology for Rabies Virus.- Section VII Summary.- 30 Detection of Viruses in Clinical Materials is Enhanced by the Polymerase Chain Reaction: Current State of Knowledge.