Many acute viral infections cause similar clinical symptoms, therefore, establishing the etiology of a viral disease requires the use of whole complexes of serological or PCR tests designed to detect a particular type of pathogen. Modern methods of molecular biology allow early diagnosis of viral diseases at a time when serological diagnostic methods are not yet effective. The aim of the work was to analyze molecular diagnostic methods that allow the determination of viral nucleic acids in

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... blood. The article presents the classification of molecular methods for the diagnosis of viral particles in clinical specimens. Methods such as in situ hybridization, reverse transcription reaction (RT-PCR), nested PCR, multiplex PCR, as well as DNA microarray technology, and the method of massive parallel sequencing are considered in detail. Particular attention is paid to NGS-technologies that were used in virology almost immediately after their appearance and allowed for detection of a number of new types of human viruses (including representatives of anelloviruses, picornaviruses, polyomaviruses, etc.). The advantages and problems associated with the application of these methods in clinical practice, as well as the prospects for their improvement are discussed.