{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.0216, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0112, 'mean_word_length': 5.415384615384616, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Genetic Characterization of Variant Strains of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 that Escaped Detection by Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase–PCR Diagnostic Tests

Important Findings Owing to the concerns about possible virus mutations, especially in endemic situations as in Egypt, different diagnostic sets were used to avoid false negative results of real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) test by using different primers and/or probes for H5 RRT-PCRs. The commercially available H5 RRT-PCRs produced variable results in this study, and these may reflect variation in primer and/or probe regions targeted by these tests. An approach based upon combined use of these commercial H5 avian influenza (AI) RRT-PCRs kits was able to detect newly emerged Egyptian variant strains from late 2007 onward that were typified by the five described field isolates. Use of the validated Eurasian H5 RRT-PCR described previously was consistently successful for the detection of all Egyptian H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) isolates at that time. It is important to employ validated and updated methods from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reference laboratories in the diagnosis of H5N1 HPAI outbreaks.