What are the advantages of the DNA-based blood test over other CF screening tests?
Generally, the DNA-based mutation test is much more specific than other screening tests, which may yield abnormal results for non-CF reasons. Also, these other screening tests may be restricted as to when they can be applied (for example, newborns can not be tested with sweat chloride until about two months of age). Furthermore, DNA-based testing is the only reliable means of identifying carriers of CF mutations, and it is in this capacity that the testing is being most widely applied.
