Method Description

The cobas Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) assay is a US Food and Drug Administration-approved, in vitro nucleic acid amplification test for the quantification of EBV DNA in human EDTA-plasma using the cobas 6800 or 8800 system for fully automated viral nucleic acid extraction (generic silica-based capture technique) and automated amplification and detection of the viral RNA. This dual-target polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay amplifies 2 highly-conserved target regions within the EBV genome (EBNA-1 and BMRF gene regions) for real-time detection and quantification by 2 target-specific TaqMan probes. A non-EBV armored DNA quantitation standard (DNA-QS) is introduced into each specimen during sample preparation to serve as internal control for nucleic acid extraction and PCR amplification and detection processes. Fluorescent reporter dye-labeled TaqMan probes hybridized to the complementary EBV target sequences and DNA-QS sequence undergo hydrolysis during PCR amplification step to generate fluorescent signal detected in 3 different dye channels. Concentration of the EBV DNA in a patient's plasma sample is determined by a ratio of the intensity of the fluorescent dye from the cleaved EBV target sequence probes to that of the DNA-QS target probe detected throughout the PCR process.(Package insert: cobas EBV-Quantitative nucleic acid test for use on the cobas 6800/8800 Systems. Roche Molecular Systems, Inc; Rev 1.0, 08/2020)