US Approves Quick Human Strain Avian Flu Test

The US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a test that can diagnose the human strain of avian flu in less than 40 minutes.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday approved a test that can diagnose the human strain of avian flu in less than 40 minutes.

The test detects the A/H5N1 virus in the throat, nostrils and saliva of patients that show symptoms of the disease.

Avian Influenza / Bird Flu-Causes-Symptoms-Treatment- FAQs
Bird flu (avian influenza/avian flu) is a disease caused by an influenza virus (H5N1) that primarily affects birds but can infect humans also.

"The clearance of this test represents a major step toward protecting the public from the threat of pandemic flu," said Daniel Schultz,of the FDA?s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

The device processes swabs to detect the NS1 protein that points to the presence of A/H5N1.

Previous tests approved by the FDA produced results in three or four hours.

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New drug maintains the integrity of blood vessels which helps in preventing lung diseases which occurs due to bird flu infection.

The World Health Organization said there have been 412 confirmed cases of the infection in humans, largely in Asia and North Africa.

None have so far been detected in the Americas.

China To Conduct Re-Test to Confirm Possible Bird Flu Death
China today agreed to reconduct lab tests to find out whether a man died of the deadly bird flu disease in Beijing as early as 2003.

The new test, dubbed "AVantage A/H5N1 Flu Test" is made by Arbor Vita Corp. a California-based firm.

Source-AFP
THK