Company says results can be obtained in six hours or less.
Diatherix Laboratories reports that it has developed a test that can detect the current strain of H1N1 virus, or swine flu, in six hours or less. The firm is making the test available to hospitals, private physician practices, and public health departments.
This test has been added to the company’s viral respiratory panel, which uses molecular technology called Target Enriched Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (Tem-PCR). Samples from confirmed patients, provided by the CDC and local hospitals, were used to validate the performance of the test. Diatherix reports that its technology can identify multiple pathogens at one time, as opposed to other methods that require different rounds of testing for each pathogen.
“Because our Tem-PCR technology can test for multiple genetic targets at one time, it is the only rapid molecular test that, from a nasal swab, can detect and differentiate multiple influenza strains and nine other respiratory viruses in a single test,” remarks Jian Han, M.D., Ph.D., laboratory director at Diatherix and faculty investigator of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.
No one from the company was available for further comment about the product and its technology.
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