Rapid PCR diagnosis for cases suspected of H5 avian influenza virus infection *
It would be urgently necessary to diagnose H5 avian influenza infection if a patient would come to the Kawasaki Medical School Hospital and be suspected of having the virus. Although the currently used rapid diagnosis kits are useful in detecting influenza viruses A and B respectively, they can not identify the subtypes of the A virus. This research is aimed at establishing the conditions to identify H5 avian influenza virus using a conventional PCR（polymerase chain reaction）method. Eight specific primers to recognize the sequences common to H5 HA（hemagglutinin）genes were made and examined for their sensitivity and specificity. Two pairs of primers were proven to detect H5 HA gene specifically even with a small amount of virus corresponding to 3 plaque forming units. The identification of the H5 HA gene was accomplished within 5 hours. Since this method is available to every laboratory equipped with a conventional PCR thermal cycler, it is useful for the rapid diagnosis of H5 influenza in our hospital.(Accepted on January 31，2006)
