Beating Swine Flu Race- New Automated System Accelerates Detection of Influenza Strains
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Findings of a new study published in the American Journal of Pathology reveals that a new automated system developed by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin have developed a rapid, automated system to differentiate strains of influenza. At a time when the spread of H1N1 strain of influenza virus is at its peak, decreased sample assay times taken to detect the sub strain of the virus, thereby providing speedier access to treatment is critical. The present study by Beck et al, “Development of a rapid automated influenza A, influenza B, and RSV A/B multiplex real-time RT-PCR assay and its use during the 2009 H1N1 swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) epidemic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” appears in the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.
Classically, Real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) is used for accurate identification of flu sub strains; however, technician and assay time are significantly longer than less accurate rapid influenza diagnostic tests. According to researchers, “this outbreak demonstrates the importance of having rapid, reliable, sensitive, and specific assays that allow clinicians and public health officials to react quickly and effectively during viral outbreaks.”
Dr. Kelly J. Henrickson of the Medical College of Wisconsin and colleagues developed rapid semi- and fully automated multiplex real-time RT-PCR assays to detect influenza A, influenza B, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. An assay is a procedure in molecular biology used in testing and/or measuring activity.
Dr. Henrickson, the lead author of the study said: “These assays can successfully detect human H1N1, H3N2 and swine-origin H1N1 viruses, as well as distinguish these from influenza B and RSV infections. These assays could test large numbers of samples over a very short time, allowing for a significant decrease in both technician and assay time.”
