LABORATORY AND FIELD EVALUATIONS OF A COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE REAL-TIME LOOP-MEDIATED ISOTHERMAL AMPLIFICATION ASSAY FOR THE DETECTION OF WEST NILE VIRUS IN MOSQUITO POOLS

Although the specific cDNA amplification mechanisms of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and RT loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) are very different, both molecular assays serve as options to detect arboviral RNA in mosquito pools. Like RT-PCR, RT-LAMP uses a reverse transcription step to synthesize complementary DNA (cDNA) from an RNA template and then uses target-specific primers to amplify cDNA to detectable levels in a single-tube reaction. Using laboratory-generated West Nile virus (WNV) samples and field-collected mosquito pools, we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of a commercially available WNV real-time RT-LAMP assay (Pro-AmpRT (TM) WNV; Pro-Lab Diagnostics, Inc., Round Rock, Texas) and compared the results to a validated real-time RT-PCR assay. Laboratory generated virus stock samples containing >= 2.3 log(10) plaque-forming units (PFU)/ml and intrathoracically inoculated mosquitoes containing >= 2.4 log(10) PFU/ml produced positive results in the Pro-AmpRT WNV assay. Of field-collected pools that were WNV positive by real-time RT-PCR, 74.5% (70 of 94) were also positive by the Pro-AmpRT WNV assay, resulting in an overall Cohen's kappa agreement of 79.4% between the 2 tests. The Pro-AmpRT WNV assay shows promise as a suitable virus screening tool for vector surveillance programs provided agencies are aware of its characteristics and limitations.