Diatherix Laboratories Releases First Clinically Available Test For Confirmation of The Swine...( Test can accurately confirm the H1N1 ...),Health

Test can accurately confirm the H1N1 virus in six hours or less

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Diatherix Laboratories Inc. (www.diatherix.com) today released the first clinically available test that can definitively diagnose the current strain of H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu, in six hours or less. The test is now commercially available to hospitals, private physician practices, and public health departments for the rapid confirmation of suspected H1N1 patients.

This test has been added to the company's viral respiratory panel, which uses proprietary molecular technology called Target Enriched Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (Tem-PCR). Samples from confirmed patients, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local hospitals, were used to validate the performance of the test. Until now, it took several days to confirm a suspected H1N1 patient due to the numerous rounds of testing needed to make a definitive diagnosis. Diatherix's advanced technology can identify multiple pathogens at one time, allowing them to detect and differentiate between the current strains of the H1N1 virus and other respiratory infections in one fast, accurate test.

"Due to the highly mutative nature of the H1N1 strains, it can be very difficult to diagnose the H1N1 virus with many of the current testing methods," said Jian Han, M.D., PhD, laboratory director at Diatherix and faculty investigator of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. "Because our Tem-PCR technology can test for multiple genetic targets at one time, it is the only rapid molecular test that, from a nasal swab, can detect and differentiate multiple influenza strains and nine other respiratory viruses in a single test. This advanced technology provides physicians an accurate and definitive diagnosis."

Dr. Han was responsible for the dev
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