NESTED RT-PCR FOR DETECTION OF SANDFLY FEVER VIRUS, SEROTYPE TOSCANA, IN CLINICAL SPECIMENS, WITH CONFIRMATION BY NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCE ANALYSIS

A single tube, reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was developed and evaluated for detecting a 400-bp product of the small RNA of sandfly fever virus, serotype Toscana (TOS). For more sensitive detection of genomic TOS RNA, a nested PCR amplifying a 243-bp cDNA within the RT-PCR product was established. Nucleotide sequence analysis of first- and second-round PCR products using the dideoxy cycle sequencing technique -confirmed a previously published sequence of the TOS reference strain (ISS. Phl. 3). By nested PCR, genomic TOS RNA was amplified from two consecutive sera taken 3 and 7 weeks after the onset of illness in one patient, and from CSF of a second patient obtained at the onset of meningitis. Authenticity of amplified PCR products was confirmed by nucleotide sequence analysis, revealing a sequence identical to the TOS reference strain. RT-PCR and nested PCR are useful for laboratory diagnosis and studies of the molecular epidemiology of TOS infection.