Amid growing fears of a bird flu pandemic and the threat of the virulent strain (H5N1) spreading through human transmission, scientists are working to develop quick and reliable detection kits for avian flu that could help health experts get a critical head start in fighting a bird flu outbreak.

Presently testing for bird flu involves growing cell cultures from blood, tissue or fecal samples, which takes days. But the detection kit being developed by Applied Biosystems targets at recognizing some of the flu’s unique gene sequences in just a couple of hours, from the same types of samples used for cell cultures. The kits contain molecules that recognize specific gene sequences and then multiply those sequences so that they can be detected. The real-time aspect of the kits lets lab technicians monitor this reaction as it occurs and also to quantify how much of the target gene sequence is present, rather than just returning a positive or negative result for bird flu.

Since the bird flu virus is constantly mutating, Applied Biosystems is also working on creating sequencing kits that would provide information on how the bird flu virus is metamorphosing. Such information can then be used to modify the detection kits using the latest sequence targets.

Another bird flu detection test being developed by Australian scientists, suspected cases would be required to take a test by spitting. Patients would place sputum coughed up from the lungs or airways in a small pot, add fluid and place it on a reactive surface. If the bird flu virus is present, then a line on the surface turns pink. The spit test is based on existing tests for the normal human flu.

Tags: bird flu, avian flu, H5N1, bird flu detection kits, bird flu test, bird flu testing

Bird Flu in Washington - Avian and H5N1

US Expects to See Bird Flu This Year