Intravitam Diagnosis of Rabies from Saliva by Nested RT-PCR

In the present study, rabies was confirmed by Nested RT-PCR on saliva of 24 animals suspected to be rabid. Amplification with first round primers (Rab N1 and Rab N5) yielded a 1477 bp product, while primers used for second round amplification (RabNfor and RabNrev) yielded a 762 bp product. By nested RT-PCR, viral RNA could be detected in 9/24 (36.0%) saliva samples. Confirmatory diagnosis by Immunofluorescence performed on brain sample revealed 17 true positive cases. Sensitivity of 68.0% was recorded by application of Nested RT-PCR on saliva samples. It was concluded that Nested RT-PCR applied on saliva of rabies suspected animal can help in intravitam diagnosis of rabies.