Since 1993, our laboratory has become a reference laboratory for hantavirus diagnosis worldwide. It is geared toward SNV, but incorporates antigens of Puumala virus and Seoul virus as well. Acute SNV infection can be distinguished from past SNV exposure through the reactivity to the SNV G1 antigen in the former. Western blot assay . RT-PCR assay .
Primers are available for all of the known pathogenic and non-pathogenic hantaviruses.
This test is generally used on paraffin-embedded tissue sections obtained at autopsy. Viral isolation . Since its sensitivity is extremely limited, this method not useful in hantavirus diagnosis. In vitro isolation of hantaviruses is helpful as a research tool. Terry Yates' lab Home Clinical Recognition of HCPS Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome is now recognized as a highly distinctive constellation of clinical and laboratory abnormalities.