Dan Jernigan from the CDC is quoted by GenomeWeb, as informing that the CDC's rRT-PCR Swine Flu Panel has been distributed to 78 qualified labs throughout all 50 states in the US, as well as labs in 130 countries, and 10 Department of Defense labs in the US. Because of the shortage of reagents, the CDC is working with other vendors to get new molecular assays cleared.
The current CDC rRT-PCR test uses TaqMan probes designed by the CDC and is run on Applied Biosystems' 7500 Fast Dx Real-Time PCR instrument (the brochure is a 31.4Mb download). Last October, this instrument/CDC rRT-PCR Flu Panel combination received 510(k) clearance for sub-typing of influenza viruses in qualified laboratories.
The "flocked swab" recommended for sample collection is explained in Copan's web site, which also offers a Twit, a set of video instructions and an animation explaining nasopharingeal sample collection.
Dr. E. J. Baron, Director of the Clinical Microbiology and Virology Laboratories at Stanford U. Med. Center, informed that these Copan swabs are available from Copan (Cat # 503CS01), Becton Dickinson (Cat # 220252) and Diagnostic Hybrids (which offers several configurations).
Showing posts with label S-OIV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label S-OIV. Show all posts
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
S-OIV = 2009 Influenza A H1N1 Virus = swine flu virus
As more cases appear, the name of the virus is also undergoing mutation. The translation of "porcino" to "swine" was, admittedly, an unfortunate one. The suggestion to call it "Mexican flu virus" was politically incorrect. The final acronym might end up becoming "SOIV", after a further deletion of the unpronounceable dash.
CDC communications have starting to refer to the virus as "swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV)", including yesterday's must read MMWR article "Outbreak of Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection --- Mexico, March--April 2009". In the analysis described there, a probable case was defined as a suspected case who tested positive for influenza A, presumably by a direct antigen test. Yet we know that these tests only have around 50% sensitivity for seasonal flu viruses, and that the sensitivity for SOIV might be even lower. Accumulating data on the value of rapid antigen test results to predict a positive PCR test result will determine whether or not the suspect/probable case classification should be based exclusively on the antigen test result.
The CDC issued guidelines for dismissal of schools and childcare facilities, addressing the issue of my previous blog.
In the meantime, some light is being shed on the origin of SOIV, as sequence data becomes available.
CDC communications have starting to refer to the virus as "swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV)", including yesterday's must read MMWR article "Outbreak of Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infection --- Mexico, March--April 2009". In the analysis described there, a probable case was defined as a suspected case who tested positive for influenza A, presumably by a direct antigen test. Yet we know that these tests only have around 50% sensitivity for seasonal flu viruses, and that the sensitivity for SOIV might be even lower. Accumulating data on the value of rapid antigen test results to predict a positive PCR test result will determine whether or not the suspect/probable case classification should be based exclusively on the antigen test result.
The CDC issued guidelines for dismissal of schools and childcare facilities, addressing the issue of my previous blog.
In the meantime, some light is being shed on the origin of SOIV, as sequence data becomes available.
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