Qiagen's Avian Flu/H5 Assay Successfully Evaluated by Institut Pasteur

QIAGEN’s artus Influenza/H5 LC RT-PCR detection kit has been successfully evaluated by the Institut Pasteur in France

The evaluation procedure of the Institut Pasteur included 18 different human influenza viruses, including 16 "seasonal" strains and two cases of human H5N1, and 12 avian strains covering 7 distinct sub-types (including recent H5N1). All these influenza viruses were correctly identified by QIAGEN’s artus Influenza/H5 LC RT-PCR detection kit. QIAGEN’s sensitive assay allowed the detection of very low levels of less than 10 influenza viruses in the samples.

The QIAGEN artus Influenza/H5 LC RT-PCR kit was evaluated in combination with QIAGEN’s QIAamp Virus purification technology. In addition, higher throughput performance of the QIAGEN solutions was demonstrated in combination with the QIAGEN BioRobot MDx automation platform which could be well adapted in pandemic situations.

The artus Influenza/H5 LC RT-PCR Kit is based on real-time PCR technology and combines a screening assay for all influenza A and B viruses with a highly specific detection of characteristic nucleic acids (RNA) of influenza A virus strains of subtype H5. It is provided in a ready-to-use format and enables the detection of influenza viruses in human sputum and serum as well as in throat and nasal swabs using the LightCycler Instrument. In addition to the influenza specific detection system, the artus Influenza/H5 LC RT-PCR Kit contains an Internal Control, which allows to verify the successful RNA isolation and to control the enzymatic reaction. Thus, a high reliability of results is achieved.

By comparison to classical characterisation procedures for influenza viruses which require a week of time, the artus Influenza/H5 Kit reduces the time of detection of influenza virus genome, and identification of H5 sub-type to 75 minutes.

QIAGEN's artus influenza detection products are for research use only. They have not been cleared or approved by regulatory authorities in the United States, or under the European IVD Directive, for human diagnostic or other clinical use, and are not intended and should not be used for human diagnostic or any other clinical purposes.