Molecular Detection of a Novel Human Influenza (H1N1) of Pandemic Potential by Conventional and Real-Time

BACKGROUND: Influenza A viruses are medically im-portant viral pathogens causing significant mortality andmorbidity throughout theworld. The recent emer-gence of a novel human influenza A virus (H1N1) poses a serious health threat. Development of molecu-lar tests for rapid detection of this virus is urgently needed. METHODS: We developed a conventional 1-step RT-PCR assay and a 1-step quantitative real-time RT-PCR assay to detect the novel H1N1 virus, but not the seasonal H1N1 viruses. An additional real-time RT-PCR that can discriminate the novel H1N1 from other swine and human H1 subtype viruses was also developed. RESULTS: All of the assays had detection limits for th