Sensitive method for detection of human herpesviruses 6 and 7 in saliva collected in field studies

To facilitate studies of the epidemiology and natural history of human herp esviruses 6 and 7 in infants, a practical method for collecting and quantif ying the DNA of these viruses was developed. Saliva was collected using sma ll strips of filter paper, and virus was detected using a real-time quantit ative fluorescent-probe PCR assay. The sensitivity and specificity of this method even after prolonged drying of the specimens compared favorably to t hose of our traditional method of collecting and assaying saliva.