Vacuette tube serum separator clot activator vacuette

One serum sample per patient was collected by using Vacuette^® TUBE Serum Separator Clot Activator (Vacuette, Greiner Bio-One, Kremsmünster, Austria). After collection, all the samples were stored at -80°C. All 139 samples were transported to Lima (Peru) under standardized frozen conditions to perform molecular assays. Positive control material for DENV, CHIKV, ZIKV, and MAYV was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Fort Collins, CO, USA).

Patients enrolled underwent serum sample collection for the molecular and serological detection of DENV and CHIKV. Also, serological detection of IgM antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 was performed, given that nasopharyngeal swabs were not available for molecular identification of this virus. One serum sample was obtained for each patient and collected by using Vacuette TUBE Serum Separator Clot Activator (Vacuette, Greiner Bio-One, Kremsmunster, Austria). After collection, all the samples were stored at -80°C. All samples were transported to Lima (Peru) under standardized frozen conditions to perform the assays.
RNA extraction of the samples was performed to carry out molecular detection by RT-PCR for DENV and CHIKV. A total of 200 μL of the serum samples was used for RNA extraction with the High Pure RNA Isolation Kit (Roche Applied Science, Mannheim, Germany), according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Viral RNA obtained after extraction was eluted in 100 μl of nuclease-free water and then processed or stored at -20°C until use.

A total of 139 patients were sampled and blood was collected by using Vacuette® TUBE Serum Separator Clot Activator (Vacuette, Greiner Bio-One, Kremsmünster, Austria). After collection, all the samples were stored at -80°C and transported to Lima (Peru) under standardized frozen conditions to perform molecular assays. In a previous study [25 (link)], in these samples we detect the presence of dengue, chikungunya, Zika and oropouche.