Development of a new method for diagnosis of rubella virus infection by reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

We developed a useful method for the detection of rubella virus genome RNA by reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) and compared the sensitivity of RT-LAMP with that of other virological tests: reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and virus isolation. The rubella virus genome was amplified by RT-LAMP from clinical isolates obtained between 1987 and 2004 with similar sensitivities to the Takahashi vaccine strain. The detection limit of RT-LAMP was compared with that of RT-PCR using the Takahashi vaccine strain.