Combination rapid test for the diagnosis of influenza type A and B

Immunological one-step membrane test for influenza A and B

The flu or influenza is one of the most common diseases of the human respiratory tract. Both terms denote the highly contagious infectious disease with influenza viruses, which is already highly contagious due to the smallest droplet quantities.
The BIOMED combined test enables the determination of the two most common and dangerous influenza viruses, type A and B. Influenza A type is spread all over the world and mutates constantly. The influenza B virus can also cause severe respiratory diseases in humans. The type C virus is rarely the cause of influenza diseases.

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Advantages of the combined rapid test:

Simple application as a qualitative lateral flow immunoassay with specific antibodies
Testing of influenza A (including subtypes A/H1N1, A/H3N2, A/H5N1) and B in one test
Rapid containment of disease outbreaks by reducing the risk of infection
Ready-to-use test kit with all necessary materials
Test result visible after 10 minutes
Targeted therapy to prevent co-infections and pneumonia

Performance data

Virustype	Sensitivity	Specificity	Crossreactions
Typ A	> 99 %	> 99 %	no
Typ B	> 99 %	> 99 %	no

The performance data of the influenza rapid test were determined in comparison to another commercially available rapid test.

Influenza

Influenza viruses

The influenza viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae are enveloped RNA viruses with a single-stranded RNA. A distinction is made between the four types of influenza A (FLUAV), B (FLUBV), C (FLUCV) and D (FLUDV). Influenza type C and type D viruses are not of great relevance in diagnostics. Type C leads, if at all, to mild diseases, while type D is not known to affect humans. Human influenza viruses are replicated in the respiratory tract of an infected individual, where they trigger an acute infection of the respiratory tract, the “real” flu or influenza.
Influenza must not be confused with a cold or “flu-like infection”, these are caused by other viruses, for example the Human Respiratory Syndytial Virus (HRSV or RSV, English: Human orthopneumovirus), Parainfluenza viruses, Rhino viruses (the “classic cold viruses”), Corona viruses (approx. 1/3 of all cases), adenoviruses (most common cold pathogen), enteroviruses (“summer flu”) or mastadeno viruses.
In Germany, waves of influenza occur in the winter months with varying degrees of spread and severity. In Deutschland kommt es in den Wintermonaten zu Grippewellen mit unterschiedlicher Ausbreitung und Schwere. Influenza viruses constantly mutate and thus form new variants. Due to these changes, it is possible that patients suffer from flu several times.

Influenza Typ A Virus

Influenza type A virus, a member of the Orthomyxoviridae family, is the most common and also the most dangerous of the influenza viruses. It is globally distributed and is subject to constant mutations and adaptations.
It is divided into the haemagglutinin serotypes H1, H2, H3, H5, more rarely H7 and H9 and the neuraminidase serotypes N1, N2 and more rarely N7. The glycoprotein haemagglutinin consists of two subunits and causes the agglutination of erythrocytes. Neuraminidase is a membrane protein with easy passage and has multiple functions during infection.
The BIOMED Influenza A+B Combi Rapid Test enables, among other things, the diagnosis of the following subtypes of particular importance in human medicine:
A/H1N1 (“swine flu”):
A frequently circulating subtype of human influenza A, which penetrates particularly easily into body cells and thus allows its genetic material to replicate, is A/H1N1. A variant of the subtype H1N1 is considered to be the cause of the “Spanish flu” (1918/1920), and the “Russian flu” (1977). Another variant was responsible for the pandemic H1N1 2009/2010, which started in North America.
A/H3N2 (“Hong Kong flu”):
The subtype H3N2 was the cause of a worldwide pandemic (1968). For this subtype there is evidence for a transmission from pigs to humans, also variants that infect dogs are known.
A/H5N1 (“Bird flu H5N1”):
Due to this highly aggressive and highly pathogenic subtype, which is very aggressive for birds and is only transmitted from person to person in very rare individual cases, the WHO has nevertheless reported several hundred deaths in humans since 2003. The subtype H5N1 spreads poorly in humans, but has an unusually high lethality rate of > 50 %.

Influenza Typ B Virus

Influenza B viruses, members of the Orthomyxoviridae, can also lead to epidemics. They have a genome in the form of a linear, single-stranded RNA. As a rule, they trigger mild to moderate diseases. Their known hosts so far are humans and seals. This limited host spectrum appears to be responsible for the absence of major influenza B-associated pandemics, although the virus, like type A viruses, mutates by both antigen drift and reassortment. In humans, influenza B viruses evolve 2-3 times slower than A viruses, but faster than C viruses.
Influenza subtype B viruses are divided into several strain lines according to where they occur.