Automated processing, extraction and detection of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2: A comparative evaluation of three commercial platforms using clinical specimens

Background Recently, automated platforms have been developed that can perform processing, extraction and testing for herpes simplex virus (HSV) nucleic acid on a single instrument. Objectives In this study, we compared three commercially-available systems; Aptima^®/Panther (Hologic, San Diego, CA), ARIES^® (Luminex Corporation, Austin, TX), and cobas^® 4800 (Roche Molecular Systems Inc, Pleasanton, CA) for the qualitative detection of HSV-1/2 in clinical samples. Study design Two-hundred seventy-seven specimens (genital [n = 193], dermal [n = 84]) were submitted for routine HSV-1/2 real-time PCR by a laboratory developed test. Following routine testing, samples were also tested by the Aptima, ARIES, and cobas HSV-1/2 assays per the manufacturer's recommendations. Results were compared to a “consensus standard” defined as the result obtained from ≥3 of the 4 assays. Results Following testing of 277 specimens, the cobas and ARIES assays demonstrated a sensitivity of 100% for HSV-1 (61/61) and HSV-2 (55/55). The Aptima assays showed a sensitivity of 91.8% (56/61) for HSV-1 and 90.9% (50/55) for HSV-2. Percent specificities for HSV-1 were 96.2% (202/210) by cobas, 99.5% (209/210) by ARIES and 100% (236/236) by Aptima. For HSV-2, the specificities were 98.1% (211/215) by cobas, 99.5% (215/216) by ARIES and 100% (216/216) by Aptima. The turnaround time for testing 24 samples was 2.5 h by the cobas 4800, 3.1 h by Aptima/Panther, and 3.9 h by ARIES. Conclusions The three commercial systems can perform all current functions on a single platform, thereby improving workflow and potentially reducing errors associated with manual processing of samples.