. 2020 Feb 20;6(1):13. doi: 10.1038/s41572-020-0147-3

Table 2.

EBOV detection tests used in the field

Test (manufacturer)	Test type	Target	Samples	Sensitivity	Specificity	Viruses detected
*Rapid viral antigen detection tests*
Dual Path Platform (DPP) Ebola antigen system (Chembio)^a	Immunochromatographic lateral flow assay	VP40	Venous whole blood (EDTA), venous plasma (EDTA) and capillary fingerstick whole blood	Qualitative; less sensitive than PCR; requires confirmatory testing	From limited data, does not cross-react with other ebolaviruses	EBOV
OraQuick Ebola rapid antigen test (OraSure Technologies)^b,c	Immunochromatographic lateral flow assay	VP40	Oral fluid and whole blood	97.1% (from oral fluid from deceased individuals); LLOD: 53 ng per ml for whole blood samples and 106 ng per ml for oral fluid	98–100% from venous whole blood samples; 99.1–100% from oral fluid from deceased individuals	BDBV, EBOV and SUDV; does not differentiate between ebolaviruses
SD Q Line Ebola Zaire Ag test (SD Biosensor)^b	Immunoprecipitation lateral flow assay	GP_1,2, NP and VP40	Plasma, serum and whole blood	84.9% for whole blood and plasma	99.7% for whole blood and plasma	EBOV
*PCR-based tests*
Ebola real-time RT-PCR kit (Liferiver Bio-tech)^b	Fluorescent real-time RT-PCR	Nucleic acids from ebolaviruses	Serum, body fluid and urine	LLOD: 23.9 copies of viral genome per reaction	Not available	Ebolaviruses
EZ1 test (DOD)^a	Real-time TaqMan RT-PCR with fluorescent reporter dye detected at each PCR cycle	EBOV nucleic acids	Whole blood and plasma	Qualitative; LLOD: 100–1,000 pfu per ml depending on live or inactivated EBOV isolate and cycler used	100%; no cross-reactivity with other ebolaviruses or marburgviruses	EBOV
FilmArray NGDS BT-E (BioFire)^a	Fluorescent nested multiplex RT-PCR	EBOV nucleic acids	Whole blood, plasma and serum	LLOD: 1,000 pfu per ml or 4.36 × 10³ genome equivalents^d per ml for live virus	EBOV; no cross-reactivity with other ebolaviruses or marburgviruses	EBOV
FilmArray Biothreat-E (BioFire)^a	Fluorescent nested multiplex RT-PCR	EBOV nucleic acids	Whole blood and urine	95% detection rate confirms LOD; LOD: 6 × 10⁵ pfu per ml using γ-irradiated EBOV	89–100% using whole blood samples, depending on the study population (Sierra Leone and UK)	EBOV
Idylla Ebola virus triage test (Biocartis)^a	Qualitative real-time RT-PCR with fluorescent reporter dyes generated upon amplification of cDNA	EBOV and SUDV nucleic acids	Whole blood and urine	97% positive agreement compared with a non-reference standard; LLOD: 465 pfu per ml or 178 copies per ml	100% for EBOV	EBOV and SUDV
LightMix Ebola Zaire TIB MolBio with Lightcycler (Roche)^a	Qualitative real-time RT-PCR with fluorescent reporter dye detected at each PCR cycle	EBOV nucleic acids	Whole blood	95% positive agreement compared with a non-reference standard; LLOD: 4,781 pfu per ml	100% for EBOV	EBOV
Ebola virus NP real-time RT-PCR (ThermoFisher (CDC))^a	Qualitative real-time RT-PCR with fluorescent reporter dye detected at each PCR cycle	EBOV NP RNA	Whole blood, serum, plasma and urine^e	99.80%; LLOD: 600–700 TCID₅₀ copies per ml	100% for EBOV	EBOV
RealStar Ebolavirus RT-PCR kit (Altona Diagnostics)^a,b	Real-time RT-PCR with fluorescent dye-labelled probes to detect PCR amplicons	Nucleic acids from ebolaviruses	Plasma	82%; LLOD: 1 pfu per ml	100% for EBOV	Ebolaviruses
EBOV VP40 real-time RT-PCR (CDC)^a	Real-time RT-PCR with fluorescent dye-labelled probes to detect PCR amplicons	EBOV VP40 RNA	Whole blood, serum, plasma and urine^e	LLOD: 400–600 TCID₅₀ per ml from whole blood; 250–600 TCID₅₀ per ml, depending on body fluid sample and extraction method used	100% for EBOV	EBOV
Gene Xpert Ebola (Cepheid)^a,b	Real-time RT-PCR with fluorescent signal from probes for quality control	EBOV NP and GP nucleic acids	Whole blood and oral fluids	100%; LLOD: 232.4 genomic copies per ml	99.5% from whole blood; 100% from oral fluid	EBOV

BDBV, Bundibugyo virus; CDC, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; DOD, US Department of Defense; EBOV, Ebola virus; GP, glycoprotein; LLOD, lower limit of detection; LOD, limit of detection; NP, nucleoprotein; pfu: plaque-forming units; RT-PCR, PCR with reverse transcription; SUDV, Sudan virus; TCID₅₀, 50% tissue culture infective dose (concentration at which 50% of cultured cells are infected with a diluted solution of viral fluid); VP40, viral protein 40. ^aEmergency use authorization approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). ^bEmergency use authorization approved by the WHO. ^cApproved by the FDA.; ^dGenome equivalents are calculated by converting the length of a genome in base pairs to micrograms of RNA. ^eShould not be the only specimen tested. Adapted from ref.²⁸⁸.