Do current Influenza A/B devices detect swine flu?
Interesting question. The leading lateral flow assays by Quidel and Inverness detect influenza type A or B and do not perform further viral subtyping. Swine flu is a type A virus, belonging to the subtype H1N1. It seems plausible that these lateral flow tests could be used to identify individuals with influenza type A (although these tests have not been validated specifically for swine flu, they detect nucleoproteins that are conserved among type A or type B viruses); samples that tested positive for fluA could then be submitted for further testing. According to the CDC website, RT-PCR or viral culture is required for confirmation of swine flu.
