FDA approves new, faster test for bird flu in humans
February 3, 2006
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. regulators have approved a new, faster test for diagnosing strains of bird flu in humans suspected of being infected with the virus, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services said on Friday.
The test designed to detect strains of Asian H5 flu provides preliminary results on suspected samples within four hours compared with at least two to three days to find a positive result with current testing technology, the agency said.
The H5N1 subtype of H5 flu virus has killed 86 people in Asia and Turkey, and is the strain doctors and scientists fear could cause a worldwide flu pandemic should it begin to easily be transmitted from human to human.
Source: reuters