Influenza diagnosis: From dark isolation into the molecular light

Simultaneous Detection and Typing of Influenza Viruses A and B by a Nested Reverse Transcription-PCR: Comparison to Virus Isolation and Antigen Detection by Immunofluorescence and Optical Immunoassay (FLU OIA)

“…This was clearly higher than was found in a recent evaluation of a nested multiplex RT-PCR method with the hemagglutinin gene as the target (12) but lower than reported from a study using the matrix gene as the target (20).…”

Surveillance of Childhood Influenza Virus Infection: What Is the Best Diagnostic Method To Use for Archival Samples?

“…In that study a fully validated and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-approved PCR of freshly collected samples detected 60% more influenza virus infections than culture alone. Similarly, other investigators have reported that PCR increases the detection rate of influenza virus compared to viral culture by 3 to 40% (4,5,7,12,(14)(15)(16)(19)(20)(21). Using our repository of archival nasal-wash samples and paired sera bracketing influenza seasons from young children followed in our clinic, we assessed symptomatic acute respiratory illnesses during four consecutive influenza seasons.…”

“…Large population-based studies using administrative databases indicate that rates of hospitalization, antibiotic use, and outpatient visits for children consistently increase when influenza virus is circulating (8,10). Prospective studies of children in inpatient and outpatient settings using viral culture alone or in combination with serology indicate that a high proportion of respiratory illness during the winter is caused by influenza virus (1,3,5,6,11,21). However, estimates of the medical care burden of influenza virus in children have been uncertain, due in part to the lack of large population-based studies that have used state-of-the-art viral diagnostic tests.…”

Evaluation of a New Dot Blot Enzyme Immunoassay (Directigen Flu A+B) for Simultaneous and Differential Detection of Influenza A and B Virus Antigens from Respiratory Samples

“…The diagnosis of influenza infection is largely clinical, but this method has been demonstrated to be both insensitive and nonspecific (15,22). The reference method (gold standard) for laboratory diagnosis of influenza is the isolation of the virus.…”

“…Therefore, physicians require rapid and simple diagnostic methods which they themselves can use in their consulting rooms. However, since sometimes the reading of results obtained by EIA methods can be difficult (14,19), a sample should be always sent to the laboratory for confirmation, culture, isolation, and typing the virus for epidemiological studies (10,22).…”