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QIAGEN Provides Solutions for Swine Flu Surveillance
Read time: 1 minute
QIAGEN has announced that two of its tests can be used to screen for the swine flu virus which increasingly affects humans in countries around the globe. Data analysis of the viral gene sequences showed that both products already marketed, the artus Influenza LC RT PCR Kit and the Resplex II 2.0 Kit*, can be used to detect whether or not Influenza A virus sequences are present in a sample, including the H1N1 subtype.
If the sample proves positive, treatment with widely available medication such as Tamiflu or Relenza can be prescribed, according to the recommendations given by the corresponding drug manufacturers.
“We have compared the swine fever virus’ sequence with our assays. The primers, which define the starting and end points of a genetic sequence that is amplified to make the target sequence visible, match 100 percent for the artus kit and almost 100 percent for the Resplex kit”, said Dr Thomas Grewing, Senior Director R&D for QIAGEN Hamburg. “We are now working closely with reference institutions to have both assays further re-validated and optimized based on clinical samples”.
QIAGEN provides several solutions for swine flu screening, testing and research which include:
• QIAGEN’s artus Influenza Kit, uses Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and runs on LightCycler, a widely used detection platform.
• QIAGEN’s Resplex II v 2.0 assay, a multiplex test which is also PCR based, not only differentiates between Influenza Type A and B, but also detects whether a sample contains additional respiratory related viruses.
• QIAGEN components: In addition to test kits, QIAGEN offers a number of components used for testing of samples including sample preparation reagents, PCR enzymes, and instrumentation.
If the sample proves positive, treatment with widely available medication such as Tamiflu or Relenza can be prescribed, according to the recommendations given by the corresponding drug manufacturers.
“We have compared the swine fever virus’ sequence with our assays. The primers, which define the starting and end points of a genetic sequence that is amplified to make the target sequence visible, match 100 percent for the artus kit and almost 100 percent for the Resplex kit”, said Dr Thomas Grewing, Senior Director R&D for QIAGEN Hamburg. “We are now working closely with reference institutions to have both assays further re-validated and optimized based on clinical samples”.
QIAGEN provides several solutions for swine flu screening, testing and research which include:
• QIAGEN’s artus Influenza Kit, uses Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and runs on LightCycler, a widely used detection platform.
• QIAGEN’s Resplex II v 2.0 assay, a multiplex test which is also PCR based, not only differentiates between Influenza Type A and B, but also detects whether a sample contains additional respiratory related viruses.
• QIAGEN components: In addition to test kits, QIAGEN offers a number of components used for testing of samples including sample preparation reagents, PCR enzymes, and instrumentation.
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