Provided are methods for detecting a target nucleic acid in a biological sample using RNA amplification. In an embodiment, provided is a method that comprises (a) amplifying a target nucleic acid, or portion thereof, using a primer comprising a sequence that is complementary to a polynucleotide sequence in the target nucleic acid, or a complement thereof, and a sequence that encodes an RNA polymerase promoter; (b) synthesizing RNA using an RNA polymerase that recognizes the promoter; and (c) detecting the presence or absence of the resulting RNA using mass spectrometry thereby detecting the presence or absence of the target nucleic acid in the biological sample.