Molecular diagnosis of flaviviruses

The genus Flavivirus includes major pathogens such as dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile and tick-borne encephalitis viruses. Molecular amplification assays for the diagnosis of flaviviruses have been developed in the last decades. These assays were formerly based on reverse transcriptase PCR, while in recent years the real-time reverse transcriptase PCR format has taken a predominant role. In this article, we focus on the more recent developments for the molecular diagnosis of flaviviruses, with special attention to those based on new methodologies such as nucleic acid sequence-based amplification or loop-mediated isothermal amplification techniques. These new approaches may provide a good profile of sensitivity and specificity and offer a real chance to implement flavivirus molecular diagnosis in clinical and point-of-care settings.