Application of the PCR Technique to the Detection of Hepatitis a Virus in the Environment

Rapid, sensitive and specific teciiniques are needed to detect Hepatitis A virus in environmental samples. We have applied the method of Jansen et al. to concentrate river samples. In the analysis of 13 samples only two proved to be positive using the Elisa method (15.3%). Three samples were positive on cell culture (23%). The hybridization test resulted in 38.4% positive samples compared to the 67% obtained using the PCR method.

The PCR showed the highest sensibility when compared to the traditional methods (cell culture and Elisa) and the differences were statistically significant. The difference between hybridization test and PCR was not statistically significant.