Abstract: Objective To evaluate different detection methods in the diagnosis of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), and find the most quick and accurate one for the identification of new bunyavirus infection. Methods Real-time PCR and ELISA-IgM were used to detect serum samples of 158 patients with acute phase of SFTS, which were collected from the special monitoring system of SFTS in Henan Province in 2014. IgM and IgG antibodies were detected by ELISA in 109 acute and convalescent paired serum specimens. The differences of the positive rates were compared between the three methods, and the influence of the collected interval time on the detection results was analyzed. Results For 158 acute phase serum samples of SFTS patients, the positive rate detected by real-time PCR (76.58%) was higher than that of ELISA-IgM (47.47%), and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=34.13, P < 0.05). For 109 cases with acute and convalescent paired serum samples, there was no significant difference in the positive rates between ELISA-IgG (75.23%) and real-time PCR (72.48%) detections (χ2=0.18, P > 0.05). In both the acute phase and convalescent phase, the positive rate of IgM was higher than that of IgG, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=41.68 and 6.25, P < 0.05). With the extension of collected interral time, the positive rates of IgM and IgG antibodies were both increased (Z=6.42 and 10.08, P < 0.05). Conclusion Real-time PCR is the most sensitive method for the early diagnosis of the SFTS. ELISA-IgG is suitable for the detection of SFTS at recovery period. ELISA- IgM can be used as an assistant method to guide clinical diagnosis.

Key words: orthobunyavirus, laboratory techniques and procedures, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, Real-time PCR, IgM, IgG