Posted on 09/15/2009 11:37:04 AM PDT by OB1kNOb
Calling all medical field FReepers. I need to get to the bottom of an issue currently being debated by our corporate pandemic planning team.
Is there or is there not a blood test that doctor offices can do to determine if there someone is infected with H1N1? If yes, then what is the specific test name?
Information given says the nasal/throat swab test is only 70-75% accurate. Is a blood test more accurate and can it be requested by patients in the doctor's office? Thanks - OB1
And I am battling my chimeny flu
Apparently Mexico does.
We have a niece going to school in Monteray, MX. She came down with a flu (recently) and was told by the hospital that for $70 MORE dollars, they would tell her if it was H1N1 or not.
It's my understanding they're not forwarding anymore since the treatment for H1N1 is the same as Influenza A. They just prescribe Tamiflu and send you home.
Thanks, LaineyDee.
Thanks DBrow.
That may be true in many areas. Recently, the hospital lab my wife works in is still sending samples out for the advanced tests. I’ll check with her tonight and see if they have stopped sending the tests out.
In my case, that's not the reason for the question. The question was simply a debate on whether there was a blood test means to verify H1N1 that doctors could provide the patient, since the nasal swab test appears to only be 70-75% accurate.
Our state had a 6 year-old girl die from H1N1 related causes last week, when dr used nasal test and it returned negative, but ended up she did have H1N1 which knocked down her immune system and allowed her to develop staph pneumonia which killed her.
Just....wow. Some folks never miss a chance to earn an extra buck at someone else's expense.
from: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm149571.htm
The below information about the test reports a NEGATIVE test result does not mean you do NOT have the swine flu. If that is the case, and as shown that is also cannot detect what stage it is in, then how can this test for sure tell the difference between influenza A and H1N1?
Maybe I am just being paranoid. But I would sure like to know a lot more about this test myself.
--
In authorizing an EUA for the rRT-PCR Swine Flu Panel diagnostic test, the FDA has determined that it may be effective in testing samples from individuals diagnosed with influenza A infections, whose virus subtypes cannot be identified by currently available tests. This EUA allows the CDC to distribute the swine flu test to public health and other qualified laboratories that have the needed equipment and the personnel who are trained to perform and interpret the results.
The test amplifies the viral genetic material from a nasal or nasopharyngeal swab. A positive result indicates that the patient is presumptively infected with swine flu virus but not the stage of infection. However, a negative result does not, by itself, exclude the possibility of swine flu virus infection.
The EUA authority is part of Project BioShield, which became law in July 2004.
They may be sending samples for further testing for their own purposes or for statistical reasons. But none of the people I know that have tested positive for “A”, including my son, have been told that their sample was sent for further testing.
Did she develop the staph after she was admitted to the hospital? Typically the people who are dying from H1N1 have underlying medical conditions....whether they have been diagnosed or not. The worst place you can go if you immune system is compromised ........is a hospital IMHO...
By this I am thinking that those born before 1957 and between 1976 -1978 night show they have antibodies. Is this correct?? As strains such as this went through then.
Our state quit testing for H1N1 months ago.
From what I have heard, people over 60 have some natural immunity, however, I haven’t seen anywhere that the swine flu from the 70’s provides natural immunity, if you have a reference, send it to me, I’m curious.
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