PROCLEIX® West Nile virus assay based on transcription-mediated amplification

摘要

The PROCLEIX® West Nile virus (WNV) assay is based on transcription-mediated amplificationnand is the most sensitive nucleic acid test commercially available today for blood screening.nSince 2003, in the USA, the assay has been used for year-round screening of blood donationsnin minipools of 16 and in an individual-donation testing format, when appropriate triggeringnguidelines for such switch become effective. The test can be run on the semiautomatednPROCLEIX modular platform or the fully-automated PROCLEIX TIGRIS® System. This assay andnthe corresponding platforms have been developed and are manufactured by San Diego-basednGen-Probe, Inc., while they are marketed and distributed by Chiron, a Novartis business. Thisnreview covers some of the epidemiological and virological aspects of WNV, as well as clinicalnquestions and technological assessment of the transcription-mediated amplification andnalternative technologies used in WNV blood screening.