FIND Demands Avian Flu Differentiation Testing

Without tests appropriate to the influenza subtype, infections in humans with H5N1 avian influenza may remain undiscovered, and public health officials may miss the opportunity to manage any outbreaks, according to a report released by the nonprofit diagnostics organisation FIND.

The group stated that although H5N1 influenza infections have been shown to result in serious illness and even death in people, commercial testing techniques to differentiate it from different influenza subtypes are nonexistent.

In April, the WHO also revealed that, since 2003, about 900 individuals across 23 countries have been verified to have had H5N1, with almost half of those cases resulting in death. The real case death rate, according to FIND authorities, could be lower, though, since illnesses have probably gone unreported and undiagnosed in the lack of publicly available diagnostic tools that can differentiate H5N1 influenza from other subtypes.

In order to identify H5N1 spread and mutations, the nonprofit organisation also stated that it advocates for increased worldwide monitoring of animal and bird populations.

FIND Board Chair Ayoade Alakija stated: “Without comprehensive diagnostics for H5N1, we are pirouetting on the edge of a volcano that is about to erupt.”

He continued: “The absence of surveillance means we’re increasing the potential of missing the window to contain outbreaks like H5N1 before they escalate into full-blown pandemics.”