How to Test for West Nile Virus in Blood

Video Transcript

"In this bay we're doing a West Nile virus, most people have heard about the West Nile virus. This test is a knat test again, so we are actually looking for the RNA of the virus, it's also a pool test. The difference is this pool is pools of six, so we've talked about HIV and HCV as pools of 24; this test is pools of six. The reason why we do pools of six is because the virus itself is smaller. So the test doesn't allow you to dilute it, so to speak, like a 24, you are only diluting 1to 6. So this essay is also a totally automated platform and we are excited about that. The instruments will take these six donor samples and it will put it into what' s called an s tube, like so. Which again has this certain bar code. It goes into the clip like so. And then this is all pipe fitted automatically into this, and this rack here is going to be put into this instrument here, which is called an amplucret. Where as the other essays are manually done extracted. This instrument, all the reagents go into the base here, we are going to slide the actual rack into the instrument and it will by total automation extract the RNA for us. When it's all extracted and done, it will end up in this little tube. So from the original plasma sample and it will come down into what?s called a K tube and that represents six donors in that one tube. Then that?s going to be taken into this instrument here where it's the same process, we are going to amplify and detect a million times that RNA. It goes in here and it amplifies and detects. The throughput for this assay is about five and a half hours."