Safety

New gene chip test could aid on-site testing for bird flu

Emergency Management Alert, November 20, 2006

 

Scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed an inexpensive "gene chip" test based on a single influenza virus gene that could allow scientists to quickly identify flu viruses, including avian influenza H5N1. The MChip is hope for those who seek quick and reliable on-site diagnostic testing. Among the other benefits, according to the November 14 statement from the National Institutes of Health::

  • Because the test is based on a single gene segment that mutates less often than the flu genes typically used in diagnostic tests, the chip may not need to be updated as frequently to keep up with the changing virus
  • According to scientists, the MChip would, for the first time, create a way to simultaneously screen large numbers of flu samples to learn both the type and subtype of virus present. Current real-time tests provide information about the type of virus (type A or B) in a sample, but additional tests must be run to determine the virus subtype-for example, H5N1 subtype.

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