One-step rapid reverse transcription-PCR assay for detecting and typing dengue viruses with GC tail and induced fluorescence resonance energy transfer techniques for melting temperature and color multiplexing.

Background: Dengue fever is an arthropod-borne infection caused by dengue viruses (DVs; DEN-1 to DEN-4). Early diagnosis is critical to prevent severe disease progression and the spreading of DV because no vaccine or specific treatment is available; therefore, a rapid and specific diagnostic assay capable of detecting and typing all serotypes would be ideal.

Methods: We amplified RNA samples from all 4 DV serotypes and Japanese encephalitis virus with 4 serotype-specific forward primers and a universal species-specific reverse primer.