Simultaneous detection of influenza A, influenza B, and respiratory syncytial viruses and subtyping of influenza A H3N2 virus and H1N1 (2009) virus by multiplex real-time PCR

A multiplex real-time PCR assay was developed to simultaneously detect and discriminate influenza A virus subtypes, including novel H1N1 (2009) and seasonal H3N2 virus, influenza B virus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in a single test tube, with detection sensitivity and specificity of 99% and 100%, respectively, for the four pathogens.