Abstract: A method for the accurate quantification of a virus in a sample, by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), includes: adding a known concentration of a Mengo virus to the sample as control for the nucleic acids extraction step, the Mengo virus being a mutant strain with the same growth properties than those of the wild-type Mengo virus, and with non-pathogenic capacity; performing a nucleic acids extraction to obtain a nucleic acids suspension; analyzing the nucleic acids suspension by RT-PCR with primers and probes; quantifying the amplimers resulting from the RT-PCR; determining the concentration of the virus in the sample by comparison of the value obtained with an appropriate standard curve; and determining the concentration of the Mengo virus by comparison of the value obtained with an appropriate standard curve.

Abstract: The present invention provides a standardized method and a kit for an accurate quantification of HAV in clinical and food samples. The general approach is based on the use of several controls to measure the efficiency of those critical steps of the quantification: the nucleic acids extraction and the RT-PCR reactions. The kit comprises: a Mengo virus mutant strain with the same growth properties than those of the wild-type Mengo virus and with no pathogenic capacity; a single stranded RNA molecule corresponding to a fragment of the HAV genome; primers that specifically bind to regions of the 5? non coding region of the HAV genome; a detectable labeled probe that specifically binds to the amplimer resulting from the RT-PCR; and an appropriate molecule to generate an standard curve for the quantification of HAV.

Abstract: The present invention provides a standardized method and a kit for an accurate quantification of HAV in clinical and food samples. The general approach is based on the use of several controls to measure the efficiency of those critical steps of the quantification: the nucleic acids extraction and the RT-PCR reactions. The kit comprises: a Mengo virus mutant strain with the same growth properties than those of the wild-type Mengo virus and with no pathogenic capacity; a single stranded RNA molecule corresponding to a fragment of the HAV genome; primers that specifically bind to regions of the 5? non coding region of the HAV genome; a detectable labeled probe that specifically binds to the amplimer resulting from the RT-PCR; and an appropriate molecule to generate an standard curve for the quantification of HAV.

Abstract: A method for the accurate quantification of a virus in a sample, by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), includes: adding a known concentration of a Mengo virus to the sample as control for the nucleic acids extraction step, the Mengo virus being a mutant strain with the same growth properties than those of the wild-type Mengo virus, and with non-pathogenic capacity; performing a nucleic acids extraction to obtain a nucleic acids suspension; analyzing the nucleic acids suspension by RT-PCR with primers and probes; quantifying the amplimers resulting from the RT-PCR; determining the concentration of the virus in the sample by comparison of the value obtained with an appropriate standard curve; and determining the concentration of the Mengo virus by comparison of the value obtained with an appropriate standard curve.