Rapid Fire Test

Having grown up in the developing world, I may be one of the greatest (yet quietest) proponents of vaccinations. My wonderful boss currently has the flu. He abstains from the flu shot. I abstain from pestering him about it.

The influenza virus is as “common” as a cold. Yet, it ability to cause havoc among the mammalian and avian population is unique. This acute viral illness is diagnosed by infection of an influenza virus, lungs, and airways and is characterized by the following symptoms malaise, myalgias, headache, cough, fever, runny nose, and sore throat. Two main types of the virus, type A and type B, cause illness amongst human (Urban, 2009). This severe illness results in an estimated 35,000 - 50,000 deaths in the United States and 250,000 – 500,000 world-wide per annum (Thompson, et. al., 2009).

The specific biological mechanisms that enable such wide-spread disease consist of the orthomyxovirus proteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) and are pleiomorphic. These molecular components are coupled with their ability to alter their antigenic protein. This ability, antigenic drift, affects host specificity which can lead to more efficient transmission among humans. This greater efficiency can also cause pandemics.

Vaccines are continually promoted as an effective measure in regards to controlling influenza outbreaks. In regards to the highly virulent and pathogenic avian influenza virus (AIV), an FDA approved vaccine currently exists and is stockpiled in the event of human to human transmission. This much feared and anticipated event would be devastating and rapid detection would be necessary to inoculate the affected area prior to its global spread (Dhumpa, 2011). Recent efforts have focused on rapid detection as existing methods that rely on sample preparation of viral RNA extraction and purification from bird droppings are laborious and can take 3-7 days. Dhumpa et. al., examined immunoseperation and purification of AIV from chicken fecal samples that takes 30 minutes. Their detection of 100% of the AIV samples indicated that more efficient, less labor intensive, time-saving, and would be crucial in the event of an AIV human to human transmission. Utilizing their reaction assay to detect AIV in the field would allow public health workers to concentrate their efforts in vaccinating affected populations rapidly. This could ultimately prevent an AIV pandemic.





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Dhumpa, R., Handburg, K., Jorgensen, P., Yi, S., Wolff, A., Bang, D. (2010) Rapid detection of avian influenza virus in chicken fecal samples by immunomagnetic capture reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 69, 258-265.



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