TABLE 6.
Comparison of results of AV PCR and virus culture or antigen detection for different clinical specimens
| Specimen | n | No. PCR and culture positive | No. PCR positive, culture negative, and ELISA positivea | No. PCR positive and culture negativeb | No. PCR negative and culture positive | No. PCR and culture negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feces | 86 | 36 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 36 |
| Respiratory specimen | 62 | 23 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 31 |
| Skin swab | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| CSF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total (%) | 151 | 60 (39.7) | 10 (6.6) | 12 (7.9) | 0 (0) | 69 (45.7) |
a
PCR-positive, culture-negative, ELISA-positive samples were fecal samples with AV types which are probably not culturable on routine cells. All had high AV DNA loads.
b
Of the 12 PCR-positive, culture-negative samples, 4 were from AV-infected patients (with an earlier sample or different type of specimen culture positive), 7 were culture or ELISA positive for another viral pathogen (CMV, rotavirus, or RSV), and 1 was positive for Clostridium toxin.