Virology

Question 1

All of the following are reasons why the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic propelled the development of molecular assays except

a) The pandemic created a shortage of cell culture materials
b) Non-molecular rapid assays could not detect the novel virus in low concentrations
c) Previously developed, commercially available molecular methods were labor-intensive with longer TAT
d) The availability of accurate and rapid diagnostics was supported by both the CDC and FDA

Answer 1

A - The pandemic created a shortage of cell culture materials

There was not a shortage of cell culture materials. The issue was the length of time in turning around results. The reporting of results for viral cell culture can take up to a week; in addition, the influenza virus would sometime fail to produce a cytopathic effect in cell culture and additional testing would be required, resulting in a further delay of results. Therefore, the H1N1 pandemic brought the need for sensitive, rapid, and easily performed detection methods to the forefront

Question 2

The amplification of an RNA target through Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) to detect HIV requires the following enzyme for the initial synthesis of DNA from the viral RNA template

a) Transcriptase
b) Reverse transcriptase
c) Taq polymerase
d) Thermocycler

Answer 2

B - Reverse transcriptase

Reverse transcriptase is the enzyme used to synthesize DNA from and RNA viral template

Question 3

The genus of virus associated with anogential warts, cervical dysplasia and neoplasia is

a) herpes simplex virus
b) human papillomavirus
c) CMV
d) coxsackievirus

Answer 3

B - human papillomavirus

HPV infects epithelial tissues throughout the body, including skin, larynx, and anogenital tissue
Persistent infection with oncogenic types of HPV and integration of HPV DNA into the cellular genome is a pathway leading to HPV induced neoplasia, such as cervical cancer