FDA OKs new, faster bird flu test

WASHINGTON, April 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new test for detecting influenza A/H5N1 -- a subtype of the avian virus that can infect humans.

The test -- "The AVantage A/H5N1 Flu Test'" -- detects influenza A/H5N1 in throat or nose swabs collected from patients who have flu-like symptoms. The FDA said the test takes less than 40 minutes to identify a specific protein that indicates the presence of the influenza A/H5N1 virus subtype. Previous similar tests cleared by the FDA can take three or four hours to produce results.

Influenza A infects both humans and animals, the federal agency said. H5N1 is a subtype found mostly in birds and most human infections have occurred in people who have come into contact with the virus through infected poultry.

"There is a possibility that the influenza A/H5N1 virus subtype could mutate further and spread quickly to humans, causing an influenza pandemic," the FDA said. "According to the World Health Organization, there are 412 confirmed human cases of infection from this virus, almost all in Asia and northern Africa. This virus subtype, which can cause life-threatening illness, has not been detected in the Americas."

The AVantage A/H5N1 Flu Test is manufactured by the Arbor Vita Corp. of Sunnyvale, Calif.