FDA Approves New Influenza Test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will allow marketing of a new test designed to detect and identify 12 specific influenza viruses.

The xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel is the first test for the detection and differentiation of influenza A subtypes H1 and H3, the FDA said Thursday in a release.

The test, manufactured by Luminex Molecular Diagnostics of Toronto, can also identify the relatively new human metapneumovirus (hMPV).

Nucleic acid tests such as the xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel utilize small amounts of genetic material, and then replicate it many times, Dr. Daniel G. Schultz, director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement. This speeds up the usual process of detecting and identifying respiratory viruses, which can take up to a week.

Other viruses identified by the xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel include influenza B, respiratory syncytial virus subtype A and B, parainfluenza 1, 2 and 3, rhinovirus and adenovirus.