Author Profile

Ahmed Abd El Wahed

Affiliation: Division of Microbiology and Animal Hygiene, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Sciences, Georg-August-University, Goettingen, Lower Saxony, Germany

Dr. Abd El Wahed studied veterinary medicine at Mansoura University, Egypt. He received his PhD in biology from Goettingen University, Germany on the use of peptide microarrays for mapping viral B cell epitopes. Currently, he is the head of Virology laboratory at the Division of Microbiology and Animal Hygiene, Goettingen, Germany. He has participated in the development of 30 point-of-care assays for the detection of infectious agents. In 2013, he was awarded the young investigator award from the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene on the establishment of a mobile laboratory for rapid detection of hemorrhagic fever viruses at low resource settings. Recently, he established a mobile suitcase laboratory for rapid detection of viruses and parasites. The mobile setup was implemented in Guinea, Senegal, Bangladesh and Brazil.

Recent Posts

Rapid Molecular Detection of Zika Virus in Acute-Phase Urine Samples Using the Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay

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Background: Currently the detection of Zika virus (ZIKV) in patient samples is done by real-time RT-PCR. Samples collected from rural area are sent to highly equipped laboratories for screening. A rapid point-of-care test is needed to detect the virus, especially at low resource settings.

Methodology/Principal Findings: In this report, we describe the development of a reverse transcription isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) assay for the identification of ZIKV. RT-RPA assay was portable, sensitive (21 RNA molecules), and rapid (3-15 minutes). No cross-reactivity was detected to other flaviviruses, alphaviruses and arboviruses. Compared to real-time RT-PCR, the diagnostic sensitivity was 92%, while the specificity was 100%.

Conclusions/Significance: The developed assay is a promising platform for rapid point of need detection of ZIKV in low resource settings and elsewhere (e.g. during mass gathering).

Reverse Transcription Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay for the Detection of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

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The emergence of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the eastern Mediterranean and imported cases to Europe has alerted public health authorities. Currently, detection of MERS-CoV in patient samples is done by real-time RT-PCR. Samples collected from suspected cases are sent to highly-equipped centralized laboratories for screening. A rapid point-of-care test is needed to allow more widespread mobile detection of the virus directly from patient material. In this study, we describe the development of a reverse transcription isothermal Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RT-RPA) assay for the identification of MERS-CoV. A partial nucleocapsid gene RNA molecular standard of MERS-coronavirus was used to determine the assay sensitivity. The isothermal (42°C) MERS-CoV RT-RPA was as sensitive as real-time RT-PCR (10 RNA molecules), rapid (3-7 minutes) and mobile (using tubescanner weighing 1kg). The MERS-CoV RT-RPA showed cross-detection neither of any of the RNAs of several coronaviruses and respiratory viruses affecting humans nor of the human genome. The developed isothermal real-time RT-RPA is ideal for rapid mobile molecular MERS-CoV monitoring in acute patients and may also facilitate the search for the animal reservoir of MERS-CoV.