Historically, influenza outbreaks have been tracked by clinical findings and serology, and characterized by culture. In a study published in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal, Carman and colleagues compared the relative speed and sensitivity of three flu surveillance assays: serology, culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Samples were collected from the nose and throat of 168 patients within a mean 5.3 days after the onset of flu symptoms; 112 patients were subsequently confirmed to have flu infection. The fastest laboratory results were obtained by PCR (36 hours), followed by culture (minimum, 1 week) and serology (minimum, 3 weeks). In 60% of patients with positive serology and negative PCR results, samples had been collected 8 or more days after the onset of symptoms. PCR did not yield any false-positive results. For samples collected within 7 days of the onset of symptoms, the sensitivity of PCR for any positive ...
PCR for flu surveillance
Historically, influenza outbreaks have been tracked by clinical findings and serology, and characterized by culture. In a study published in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal, Carman and colleagues compared the relative speed and sensitivity of three flu surveillance assays: serology, culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Samples were collected from the nose and throat of 168 patients within a mean 5.3 days after the onset of flu symptoms; 112 patients were subsequently con
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