Oligonucleotide ligation assay (OLA) and vOLA

OLA is a point mutation detection assay based on selective oligonucleotide ligation developed by researchers at the University of Washington [49]. The OLA-simple kit was developed to detect mutations associated with resistance to certain NRTIs and NNRTIs in HIV-1 subtypes A, B, C, D, and CRF01_AE (Table 5). The kit uses dried reagents to facilitate assay setup, lateral flow devices for visual detection, and in-house software with an interface for guiding analysis of results [49]. This test has been investigated in field studies in Kenya [50] and Mexico [51]. A newer iteration of OLA under development (“vOLA”) includes a POC viral load assay coupled with a reflex option for the detection of DR variants (personal communication).