# A Highly Sensitive Molecular Technique for RNA Virus Detection

## TL;DR

A new rapid and sensitive method for detecting Zika and Chikungunya viruses was successfully tested using human blood samples from infected patients in Mexico.

## Contribution

The study validated a novel two-step isothermal amplification technique for virus detection in real-world patient samples.

## Key findings

- The RAMP technique successfully detected Zika and Chikungunya viruses in human sera samples from Mexico.
- The method proved effective in real-world conditions after prior lab validation.
- The technique combines RPA and LAMP for high sensitivity and specificity.

## Abstract

Zika (ZIKV) and Chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses are mosquito-transmitted infections, or vector-borne pathogens, that emerged a few years ago. Reliable diagnostic tools for ZIKV and CHIKV—inexpensive, multiplexed, rapid, highly sensitive, and specific point-of-care (POC) systems—are vital for appropriate risk management and therapy. We recently studied a detection system with great success in Mexico (Villahermosa, state of Tabasco), working with human sera from patients infected with those viruses. The research conducted in Mexico validated the efficacy of a novel two-step rapid isothermal amplification technique (RAMP). This approach, which encompasses recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) followed by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), had been previously established in the lab using lab-derived Zika (ZIKV) and Chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses. Crucially, our findings confirmed that this technique is also effective when applied to human sera samples collected from locally infected individuals in Mexico.