Test for Avian Influenza Virus

A new laboratory test has been developed to detect human infection with avian influenza A/H5 viruses. The test has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The test is called the influenza A/H5 (Asian lineage) virus real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) primer and probe set. Results are obtained within four hours of a sample arriving in the laboratory. If the H5 virus is identified, further testing identifies the specific H5 subtype (e.g., H5N1).

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA) developed the avian influenza virus test. It will be distributed to Laboratory Response Network (LRN)-designated laboratories in the U.S. to enhance early detection and surveillance activities, and to increase laboratory response associated with a potential pandemic. CDC has also shared the test technology with the World Health Organization (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland) and its collaborating centers around the world.

More than 160 cases of the H5N1 strain of influenza have been reported in Thailand, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Turkey, and Iraq since December 2003. At least half of the people infected with H5N1 virus have died. The majority of cases are believed to have been caused by exposure to infected poultry. Health professionals are concerned that the virus could evolve into a strain capable of human-to-human transmission and lead to an influenza pandemic.

Information from the test will be used to track cases of illness with the H5N1 strain of virus. Testing is indicated when a patient has symptoms of severe respiratory illness and a history of exposure to sick, dead, or infected poultry in a country known to have outbreaks of H5N1 virus.



Related Links:
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention