Additional Diagnostic Yield of Adding Serology to PCR in Diagnosing Viral Acute Respiratory Infections in Kenyan Patients 5 Years of Age and Older |
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Authors: | Daniel R. Feikin M. Kariuki Njenga Godfrey Bigogo Barrack Aura Stella Gikunju Amanda Balish Mark A. Katz Dean Erdman Robert F. Breiman |
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Affiliation: | aInternational Emerging Infections Program, Global Disease Detection Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Kenya ;bKenya Medical Research Institute/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health and Research Collaboration, Kisumu, Kenya ;cNational Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
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Abstract: | The role of serology in the setting of PCR-based diagnosis of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) is unclear. We found that acute- and convalescent-phase paired-sample serologic testing increased the diagnostic yield of naso/oropharyngeal swabs for influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus, adenovirus, and parainfluenza viruses beyond PCR by 0.4% to 10.7%. Although still limited for clinical use, serology, along with PCR, can maximize etiologic diagnosis in epidemiologic studies. |
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