the country have “rapid influenza antigen tests,” which take about 30 minutes and detect proteins from the virus’s outer coat only. The molecular method is similar to a pregnancy test, but is used on throat or nose swabs. However, these tests will only identify there is a positive result for a virus of the influenza A family, and will not specify the 2009 H1N1 virus.
More involved tests include utilize a molecular technique known as reverse-transcriptase PCR. Again, the kits in widest use are not specific for the 2009 H1N1 virus, but the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has worked quickly to release 2009 H1N1 flu virus sequences on their website, so laboratories could modify this test and single out 2009 H1N1.
One of the best tests was developed by Dr. Jian Han, now a Faculty Investigator at HudsonAlpha and the Chief Scientific Officer for Diatherix, a HudsonAlpha associate company. This test is run on a nose or throat swab, but can detect up to 14 pathogenic organisms from the same sample, including 2009 H1N1.
Will a vaccine be developed for novel H1N1 influenza?
Yes. Even though the traditional flu season is still several months away, vaccine production and distribution takes four to six months, meaning work must begin immediately. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has already awarded several contracts to pharmaceutical companies to begin producing vaccine against H1N1. As the first step in vaccine production, the CDC and WHO are developing initial stocks of the virus that will be distributed to the pharmaceutical companies by mid July.
By Drs. Chris Gunter and Neil Lamb
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology
If you want to know more:
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control H1N1 overview: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
- World Health Organization updates: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/updates/en/index.html
- Using Google Earth mashup to identify H1N1 cases: http://www.nature.com/nature/multimedia/googleearth/