Question

For Human mastadenovirus C (aka Human adenovirus C):

- How is PCR involved in molecular detection

- is it known how long the virus can survive in the environment without a host/reservoir?

Answer 1

Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a rapid, highly sensitive and specific method used to detect viruses in a range of tissues (including serum, semen, oral fluids, lung, fetuses, lymph nodes, spleen, and tonsils), and also in environmental samples. The process involves the extraction of viral RNA from the biological sample, conversion to DNA by reverse transcriptase, amplification by PCR, and detection of amplified DNA.

The length of time that viruses can live on surfaces and remain infectious varies greatly. It can live from 3 hours to 3 days depending on virus family and strain.