A negative result does not exclude human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) infection. Therefore, the results obtained should be used in conjunction with clinical findings to make an accurate diagnosis.
This assay detects nucleic acid and, therefore, cannot distinguish between replicating and nonreplicating virus (ie, remnant viral nucleic acid). Test performance depends on the viral load in the specimen and may not correlate with cell culture performed on the same specimen.
Although this assay may detect dual infections of HHV-6A and HHV-6B, low level infections may be masked when in the presence of a higher concentration of an HHV-6 subtype.
Viral loads may vary between laboratory-developed assays. When monitoring a patient's HHV-6 viral load, the same method and sample type should be used.
This test cannot be converted to IU/mL. It is recommended to utilize the same test for the duration of the clinical care for consistency in reporting units (copies/mL).