title: The host response to infection: advancing a novel diagnostic paradigm.
abstract: Capturing the host response by using genomic technologies such as transcriptional profiling provides a new paradigm for classifying and diagnosing infectious disease and for potentially distinguishing infection from other causes of serious respiratory illness. This strategy has been used to define a blood-based RNA signature as a classifier for pandemic H1N1 influenza infection that is distinct from bacterial pneumonia and other inflammatory causes of respiratory disease. To realize the full potential of this approach as a diagnostic test will require additional independent validation of the results and studies to examine the specificity of this signature for viral versus bacterial infection or co-infection.
authors.forename: Geoffrey S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ginsburg
authors.forename: Christopher W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Woods
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype / Q000235:genetics*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D011024:Pneumonia, Viral / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology*