Advances in Diagnostic Approaches for Viral Etiologies of Diarrhea: From the Lab to the Field

Abstract

The applications of correct diagnostic approaches play a decisive role in timely containment of infectious diseases spread and mitigation of public health risks. Nevertheless, there is a need to update the diagnostics regularly to capture the new, emergent, and highly divergent viruses. Acute gastroenteritis of viral origin has been identified as a significant cause of mortality across the globe, with the more serious consequences seen at the extremes of age groups (young and elderly) and immune-compromised individuals. Therefore, significant advancements and efforts have been put in the development of enteric virus diagnostics to meet the WHO ASSURED criteria as a benchmark over the years. The Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent (ELISA) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) are the basic assays that provided the platform for development of several efficient diagnostics such as real-time RT-PCR, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), polymerase spiral reaction (PSR), biosensors, microarrays and next generation sequencing. Herein, we describe and discuss the applications of these advanced technologies in context to enteric virus detection by delineating their features, advantages and limitations.

Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical characteristics of rotavirus and adenovirus among Lebanese hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis

“…In the past, bacteria were thought to be the most common cause of gastroenteritis [6]; however, in the last two decades, viruses have become more frequently identified with the advances in the ability to diagnose viral infections [7]. Among the causative viruses, rotaviruses and adenoviruses represent the leading causing pathogens [8], along with other viruses such as noroviruses and astroviruses [9].…”

Evaluation of current diagnostic methods for COVID-19

“…The next-generation gene sequencing method has become a technique that is frequently applied mainly in the epidemiology and characterization of pathogens. 30 Although it is an accurate and reliable technique, its practical application is limited due to its high cost and expert requirement.…”

An Update on Molecular Diagnostics for COVID-19

“…In this technique 4 to 6 specifically designed primers are used to detect distinct nucleic acid sequences, moreover there is no requirement of initial template denaturation and reaction time is minimized up to 30 minutes using strand-displacement polymerases (Kashir and Yaqinuddin, 2020). For a colorimetric based analysis LAMP reaction mixture is added with hydroxynepthol blue (HNB) prior to amplification, thus avoiding cross contamination in the future (Malik et al, 2019). Lin Yu et al have used another approach that combines reverse transcription with LAMP diagnostic technique (RT-LAMP) allowing direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.…”