Detection of Influenza Virus Infection Using Two PCR Methods

Table 1

Comparison of singleplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (SRT-PCT) with multiplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (MRT-PCR) showing sensitivity and specificity of MRT-PCR compared to SRT-PCR for influenza, 2012-2013.

Influenza A				Influenza B
MRT-PCR	SRT-PCR			MRT-PCR	SRT-PCR
	Positive	Negative	Total		Positive	Negative	Total
Positive	250	1	251	Positive	69	0	69
Negative	10	672	682	Negative	7	851	858
Total	260	673	933^*	Total	76	851	927^*
Sensitivity/specificity	96%	99.8%		Sensitivity/specificity	91%	100%

MRT-PCR: multiplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; SRT-PCR: singleplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.
^*Of the 935 specimens, 2 specimens in SRT-PCR had inconclusive results/missing data (leaving 933) and were MRT-PCR negative for influenza A and 8 specimens in SRT-PCR had inconclusive results/missing data (leaving 927) and were MRT-PCR negative for influenza B.