Health
Assay allows for quick flu strain ID
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 18, 2006
A novel lab test can genetically type an influenza virus within 12 hours, says a pair of papers in the August Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Researchers hope the test will be used broadly to identify rapidly which flu strains are circulating and to detect early any strains that could become a pandemic version, such as H5N1.
"The ability to quickly and accurately identify strains of influenza would be invaluable to international flu surveillance efforts," said Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. "This is an encouraging advance." NIAID funded the study.
Researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder, developed the FluChip using influenza isolates and lab facilities provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They were able to fully characterize 72% of isolates and partially identify another 13%. The remaining isolates either could not be subtyped or led to false-negative or false-positive test results. These issues were usually not due to the nature of the test but because of difficulties in the nucleic acid amplification required, according to the authors. Scientists intend to continue to refine this test until it is possible to get accurate results in less than one hour.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/09/18/hlbf0918.htm.
