According to Dr. Ngo Thi Thi, head of the Microbiology Department at the Central Children’s Hospital, the PCR technique is based on the amplification of a segment of the virus’s gene to identify the strain of enterovirus causing encephalitis and meningitis. This method has been successfully implemented by the molecular biology laboratory of the department.
The PCR method allows for the exponential amplification of the virus, enabling diagnostic results even when a patient has just contracted the enterovirus, at a stage when the viral load is still minimal.
The hospital will continue to develop the PCR technique to detect a group of eight types of viruses commonly associated with encephalitis and meningitis in pediatric patients in our country.
Master Phung Thi Bich Thuy reported that since the beginning of the year, the hospital has received 65 cases of suspected enterovirus-related encephalitis and meningitis. PCR testing has confirmed that 33 cases are indeed caused by enterovirus-induced encephalitis and meningitis.
NGOC HA
