Background
In developing countries, equipment necessary for diagnosis is only available in few central laboratories, which are less accessible and of limited capacity to test large numbers of incoming samples. Moreover, the transport conditions of samples are inadequate, therefore leading to unreliable
Conclusions
The developed assay protocol and mobile setup performed well. Moreover, it can be easily implemented to perform diagnoses at airports, quarantine stations, or farms for rapid on-site viral nucleic acid detection.
Results
The sensitivities of the H7 and the N9 RT-RPA assays were 10 and 100 RNA molecules, respectively. The assays were performed at a single temperature (42°C). The results were obtained within 2-7min. The H7N9 RT-RPA assays did not show a cross-detection either of any other respiratory viruses affecting humans and/or birds or of the human or chicken genomes. All reagents were used, stored, and transported at ambient temperature, that is, cold chain independent. In addition, the Diagnostics-in-a-Suitcase was operated by a solar-powered battery. Conclusions: The developed assay protocol and mobile setup performed well. Moreover, it can be easily implemented to perform diagnoses at airports, quarantine stations, or farms for rapid on-site viral nucleic acid detection.