Infectious Diseases: Control and Prevention

Influenza and Diagnostic Approaches

Early diagnosis of influenza viral infections are critical for rapid initiation of antiviral therapy to reduce influenza related morbidity and mortality both during seasonal epidemics and pandemics. Several different approaches are currently available for diagnosis of influenza infections in humans. These include viral isolation in cell culture, immunofluorescence assays, nucleic acid amplification tests, immune chromatography-based rapid diagnostic tests, etc. Newer diagnostic approaches are being developed to overcome the limitations associated with some of the conventional detection methods. The rapid flu swab test is a relatively fast and accurate method for diagnosing influenza.