Laboratory diagnosis of swine flu: a review

Human swine influenza A [H1N1], also referred to as "swine flu," is highly transmissible. The emergence of new strains will continue to pose challenges to public health and the scientific communities will have to prepare to detect them for appropriate treatment. Most sophisticated methods include immunofluorescence staining and antigen subtyping based on hemagglutination inhibition (HI). Another standard method is RT-PCR targeting hemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes. The recent availability of rapid, reliable, and easy-to-perform tests for detecting influenza virus infections has introduced rapid viral diagnosis. This review thus summarizes the current information on the present diagnostic methods for influenza virus H1N1.