ISSN: 0973-7510
E-ISSN: 2581-690X
The novel strain of influenza A virus (H1N1) causes infection in millions of people, with significant mortality and morbidity. Therefore, this virus must be precisely detected as quickly as possible to obtain a better prognosis. Here, we evaluated the performance of the rapid BDTM Directigen EZ Flu A+B test (BD-RDT) as a screening method for diagnosing H1N1 infection. A total of 2154 samples from suspected cases received between August 2009 and March 2010 were screened for H1N1 using the BD-RDT, and the results were confirmed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. We found that 600 (27.85%) samples tested positive by PCR, and the highest detection was observed in November 2009. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the BD-RDT were 20.5%, 99.3%, 92.48%, and 76.39%, respectively. In conclusion, the BD-RDT has a very low sensitivity, so its results must be confirmed by PCR.
Rapid test, BDTM Directigen EZ Flu A+B test, PCR, H1N1
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